Hell Hath No Fury
by Helena Mira
Summary: Elena has been cast out of Christian's life forever. But she has no intention of going quietly. As the plot unfolds, we will see how deep her resentment truly runs. Will she succeed in her plot to destroy the Grey family? Follow up to Tea on Tuesday at Four. Feedback please.
1. Prologue

**Hell Hath No Fury**

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Misquoted and misattributed to Shakespeare.

"Heaven has no rage like a love to hatred turned. Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned." _The Mourning Bride. Act III, Scene VIII. _Spoken by Zara. William Congreve (1697)

**Prologue**

**Elena**

I am still reeling from the events of last night. As I always knew that he would, Christian Grey returned to me. Yet as I never even suspected that he might, he ultimately rejected me. Yes, it was the final goodbye, our last contact. I had no idea that it would come to this. I had no hint that he would become so in love with his wife that he would turn away from me when I offered him the only kind of comfort that he understood. But when I touched his hand, when I stroked his fingers, he looked at me in shock.

At first I thought it was because my touch was so gentle, so tender. But then I saw the horror in his eyes and knew. He could not bear the very thought of my touch. And then I knew. She, and probably his mother as well, had completely poisoned his mind against me. He was looking at me differently, as if I really was the child molester or pedophile that they claimed that I was.

He was afraid of losing Ana. He was clinging to her now as he had once clung to me. She wanted a child. Yet he had decided that if she had a child, she would love that child better than himself; that she would choose the child over him. His thoughts were in a state of pure chaos. Considering his past, his strain of logic was unfathomable. His own mother had not chosen him, although anyone would be hard-pressed to say what she had chosen, other than the drugs.

If he didn't want tender care or sympathy from me, what did he want? I doubt that he even knew, really. I made light of my attempt to console him, physically that is. Whatever he needed, it wasn't me. I am a woman with my pride. I left him and wished him well. And then I sent him a text explaining that I understood his feelings and that I thought he would make a good father.

Seeing him again had once again ripped open some of the old wounds from our last parting. I hadn't seen him in over two months. I had certainly known of his marriage. The whole state was consumed by the details, as if it were a royal wedding or something. But then again, everyone loves a Cinderella story and little Anastasia made the perfect Cinderella. And Christian, because no one knew otherwise, was the perfect Prince Charming.

How often did I read a headline or view a picture and laugh to myself? He was quite lucky that his fifteen subs chose to honor their NDA's. Any one of them could have made a small fortune telling her story to press. And what could he have done once the cat was out of the bag? And boy could I tell stories, but not without ruining my reputation.

I am lucky that no one ever learned the true reason for my falling out with Grace. There was nothing that she could say, nothing even close to the truth, that wouldn't also have implicated her son in a rather salacious story. Worse than that, it would have started reporters digging around for more. And not just into my background. No, she may have placed some constraints on my social circle, but she couldn't do as much damage as I am sure that she would have liked.

But I have neither forgiven nor forgotten. And I am still in possession of the one piece of information that can blow all of their lives apart. And I don't have to go near any of them to use it. Once I set the wheels in motion, there will be nothing that any of them can do to stop it. Taylor made his threats, but none of them cover this. And Christian may be hurt, but Grace and Carrick most certainly will be, and far more than he will.

I suppose that in my own way, I have loved him all these years. Those paragons of virtue such as Ana and Grace would call my love twisted and unnatural. But what do they know? Do they know the depth of Linc's hatred for him? Do they know that the beating that I took for him would most certainly have killed him? I have never been the soft and vulnerable type. The only time in my life when I ever felt worthy of pity was when I was lying in that hospital bed.

I suppose that the only truly selfless act of my life was when I sent Christian away and told him not to act out his anger on Linc. Yes, I wanted to protect my own reputation, but I also knew that at that point in time, in a head to head match up, Christian would have lost. Linc was the physically stronger man and had more confederates that he old call upon to finish the job.

For these last months, I have been sustained by the knowledge that in the end, Christian would return to me. Last night should have been my night of triumph and yet it was the final defeat. But what was it that Yogi Berra once said? "It's never over 'til it's over." Well, folks, it ain't over yet.

For now I intend to bide my time. Timing is everything in matters of this nature. Right now, so close to our last farewell, Christian might be expecting something from me. He might be suspicious of any sudden revelations in his life. I walked away with my dignity, but I have not quite walked away forever. I can wait. I certainly know how to wait. And it will be worth it to watch as the Greys' lives unravel around them.

**Grace**

The events of the last week have shaken me to the core. The idea that Ana and Mia both nearly lost their lives to that awful man continues to haunt me. Jack Hyde has suddenly become a name that inspires fear. I thought that nothing could be worse than the revelations about Christian and Elena, but we nearly lost both of them _and _my first grandchild. Could there be any greater horror?

Once again, I blame myself. I should have known that there was more to our increased security than some random nutcase who had become obsessed with my wealthy son and his family. And Mia is just so impulsive and headstrong. I should have stood up to her and told her that she had to live with the close security until Christian said that it was safe. It is a pity that he has always been so overly scrupulous about the issue of security. What did Ana say? That he was the boy who cried wolf.

I should have known that sooner or later some kind of unsavory character would surface from Detroit. There was still unfinished business there. I sensed it. That was part of the reason that we moved; that, and the fact that the city was falling to pieces around our heads, even twenty-four years ago. It seems almost fantastical that this man had lived with Christian in his foster home for a mere two months and had then ended up as Ana's boss in Seattle twenty-four years later. But such coincidences are not impossible. And the bitterness of this man's feelings of revenge are not unheard of.

Equally stunning is what Christian told us tonight. It was Linc who actually had put up Hyde's bail, which had allowed him to get out of jail and perpetrate these crimes. That was also an act of revenge. And it is one more crime that I can attribute to my ex-friend, now enemy, Elena. The fact is that if Christian had never become entangled with her, then her husband would not have desired to exact such a horrendous revenge of his own.

He has claimed that he had no idea of what Hyde was capable of. However the crimes of which he was accused were hardly parking tickets. And, he said, how could he have known that Elizabeth Morgan would be such a willing accomplice? The fact is, that Linc is not nearly the stupid fool that he claims to be.

Now of course that Christian has financially ruined him, he is claiming that he had no idea that Hyde was such a threat to our family's wellbeing. Linc may be many things, but he is not an idiot. Hyde tried to burn out the server room at Grey House and kidnap Ana. There was also some evidence that he tampered with the helicopter. Why Hyde was granted bail in the first place is a mystery, even if it was set far out of his own reach. Carrick is presently looking into that.

Even now, I must admit that I am nervous about things. Ana has recovered from her attack. She refuses to worry any more about the bruises and she is aching to get back to work. As a result, both she and Christian are working from the apartment. He doesn't trust her to stay at home. And she won't let him leave Taylor with her. She insists that he keep him close.

I suppose that I can't blame her. Security has been tight for them since the crash, right before they got engaged. She must feel as though she is living in a constant state of high anxiety. In a few days, I will have to address that with Christian. Yes, she is a young and healthy girl, but that kind of stress isn't good for any pregnant woman. Things can be very precarious in the first three months, which is why so few couples announce that they are expecting until twelve weeks or so. She needs to stay relaxed and happy. The constant surveillance is not keeping her relaxed. And she needs to work to stay happy.

I am not pleased that Christian went to see Elena that one last time. Especially since it led to the argument with Ana that created a situation where she no longer trusted him. However, if it means that he is finally done with her once and for all, then I suppose hat that is good. I was surprised that he would have even thought to go running to her. It's an indication of just how shaken he was by the news that he was going to be a father.

I am really not shocked that his initial reaction to impending fatherhood was one of fear. So much of his emotional immaturity and instability is due to those early years. In addition to the fact that his biological father completely abandoned his birth mother, the men who were in her life were very abusive. In fact, it was months before he would even trust Carrick, no matter how kind and gentle he was both to him and myself. Even now he is fearful that he will be a "shitty," to quote him, father.

I have spoken with Ana confidentially and apparently, his reaction to the news was rather stunning. First he went into a fury, then he stormed out in a rage, and finally he returned home well after midnight in a drunken state and finally passed out as she was trying to put him to bed. Then she saw the text and knew that he had been with Elena. Finally, _she _snapped and refused to tolerate any more of his adolescent behavior. He knew her feelings about Elena very well. She felt betrayed. And she now had the baby to think about.

I wish that she had thought of that before she went off on her mission to save Mia. Of course, there is no way to know now what might have happened if she had let someone know. This is the kind of thing that Christian had hired Taylor to take care of. This is his area of expertise. Instead, she put herself and the baby in mortal danger. I hope that both she and Mia have learned their lessons about letting the experts take care of security.

To see Christian at her side in the hospital was a terrible shock. But then, he had had a very great one of his own. He admitted to me that seeing her lying on the ground, cold and unconscious, knowing that it was the result of a man's attack had brought back all of the memories that had been haunting his dreams for years. In those moments, he was back in that wretched apartment with his poor mother who he had not been able to save. And like his mother, he was afraid that she was dead.

Thankfully Taylor was there to hold him back. Who knew what her injuries were at that point? And what further damage could have been done by moving her? At least he was able to travel in the ambulance with her. One of the EMTs told me that for a while they thought that they might have to treat _him._

It is difficult to say how the breakthrough was made. Perhaps, it was the fact that he finally realized that he was no longer alone in life. First he had accepted Ana. Then, when he was at his lowest and most fearful point since those days alone in the apartment with his poor mother, he knew that he was not alone. A team of doctors and nurses were caring for his wife. His family was surrounding him to support him in those dark moments.

It was at that point that the final wall came tumbling down and he finally accepted my love and compassion. He actually let me hold him. He let me comfort him as he had never done before. But he had also finally recognized Elena Lincoln for the evil being that she is. He will never go near her again, not because it would upset Ana, not because we have told him not to, but because he is finally free. We are all free of her malevolent presence in our lives.

It was the final demon that he had to face down from the past. Was that why he sought her out? We will never be sure. Did he really think that she had any kind of solace to offer him? Did he need to go and find that out for himself? He does not need to know and neither do we. All that matters is that he is free of the past and can move forward with his life with Ana and the baby.

**Christian**

At last the ghosts have been laid to rest. My mother, my birth mother, died, but Ana lives. I could do nothing to save her, but I could save Ana. Ana once told me that she was much stronger than my mother. But it was hard to believe her. My mother, Ella, was like Ana. She was small built, dark haired, and yes, I can finally admit it, she was beautiful. And I loved her.

I will no longer call her the crack whore, even though that was what she was. Flynn has helped me to see that as long as I refer to her as that, I am placing a negative value judgment on myself. As the son of a crack whore, I felt worthless and unworthy.

This event was horrible on so many levels. Jack Hyde tried to destroy my life by taking away from me two of the women I love best, Ana and Mia. And unknowingly, he would also have taken my child. He was a brute and a beast, like the pimp that used to come in regularly to beat the hell out of my mother. I thought for a time that he was me or I was him. But Ana showed me that that was wrong.

He was angry and bitter because the Greys did not adopt him. But he had had a mother to go back to. Nobody could have adopted him if they wanted to. Eventually he could, and would, go back to his mother. Things didn't turn out so bad for him. Or they wouldn't have if he hadn't brought this upon himself. In a perverse way, by trying to destroy my life, Jack Hyde actually gave it back to me. I would never want to repeat the experience, and I would certainly change it if I could, but it has taught me that I am not only capable of great love, I am worthy of it.

Ana believes that our child will come into this world "programmed" to love us both. She claims that he or she will love and trust us simply by virtue of the fact that we are his or her parents. I try to think of what that would be like, but there is no point of reference. I have no idea of what my own biological father was like. Ana's father died the day after she was born and she never knew him. Her mother has told me that he only held her once. But to Ana, he is a mythical hero created by her mother. She doesn't quite believe her, but then, she doesn't have to.

At least her parents were married. At least, when the chips were down, her father married her mother and gave her his name. Even though she would eventually take Ray's name, he was there when she was born. Whoever the bastard was who fathered me, on the other hand, abandoned my mother to the streets. I guess I'm lucky that she didn't take up the drugs until after I was born, so I suffer none of the effects of pre-natal drug abuse. No, but I do suffer from the effects of post-natal child neglect.

At least I am at peace with my mother's memory. I no longer feel conflicted about her. As Ana has told me and Flynn has reinforced, the same circumstances that dealt me a shit hand of cards at the beginning of my life, dealt the same shit hand to her at the end of hers. And she must have loved me in some way, because while she was living, she didn't abandon me. And she easily could have.

It is okay for me to have loved her. But it is also okay that I now love Grace in her place. Ana explained to me how she has never felt guilty because she loves Ray as her father. He was the one who took her in when she couldn't live with her Mom's third husband. When her scatterbrained Mom wasn't there for her, he was. And her own father was long dead. It was okay for her to love Ray and take his name.

I love Carrick too. He is the father that wanted me. He was the father that accepted me when my Mom wanted to bring me home. He is my father and Elliot and Mia are my brother and sister. The five of us may not be held together by any biological bond, but we are held together by love. And sometime in May, Ana tells me, there will be a new little person to love me who is a part of me as no one else in the world is. And, yes, I do believe that he or she will love me . . . unconditionally.

**Price**

"Mr. Price," says Julia. "That gentleman is back to see you."

I look up from my desk in annoyance. I have a lot of work to do in preparation for my next meeting and I don't have time for this.

"Tell him that I'm busy," I growl.

"Mr. Price," she says, flinching at my tone. "He is very persistent. He says that he will keep returning until you see him."

I run my hand back through my hair in frustration. This fellow claims to have information that I must know. He claims that I will be very grateful when I see him.

"Okay," I sigh. "Let him in."

A rather ordinary man comes walking in. There is nothing about him to indicate that he is this overwhelming personality who has demanded that I see him. He is dressed neatly in a brown suit with a bow tie. His hair neatly clipped and he is wearing glasses. He is carrying a leather briefcase.

"Mr. McBride, sir," states Julia politely.

"Mr. Price," he says. "I'm sorry to bother you, but it's a matter of great importance."

"My time is valuable," I say. "State your business so that I can get on with my work."

"Mr. Price, you are originally from Traverse City, Michigan, are you not?" he asks.

"Yes, yes," I reply impatiently. "That's a matter of public record."

"And you came out here to the west coast to attend Stanford in 1983?" he continues.

"Once again, anyone can find my biography on Wikipedia," I answer. "Now tell me something that I don't know or I will have you tossed out of here and inform security never to let you in the building again."

He looks at me coolly, not at all intimidated by my threats. This guys has balls, I have to give him credit for that.

"And when you were in high school," he continues. "You dated an Ella Gracy, did you not?"

Now he has my attention. I haven't heard Ella's name in almost thirty years. What the hell is he up to?

"What do you know about Ella?" I ask quietly.

He narrows his eyes.

"Now that I have your attention, may I please be seated?" he asks smoothly. "I have a little story to tell you."


	2. Chapter 1

**Hell Hath No Fury**

**Chapter 1**

**Price**

I invite McBride over to my conference table where we sit across from one another. I have no idea of what he is going to tell me. Of course, I will never forget Ella. She was my summer romance during July and August of '82. We both worked at a local pool where I was a lifeguard and she worked at the snack stand. Every day when I would go over to pick up my lunch, she would give me a shy smile as she looked up at me from under her bangs.

We got to talk at one of those employee parties where everyone comes with a six-pack of beer or a bottle of wine. I remember laughing because she brought a bottle of Diet Pepsi, which was actually more popular than the beer with the girls. We both went to the same high school, but traveled in very different social circles. It was a huge school, so it was very easy not to know people.

She was in the art club and played piano for the glee club, a real artistic type. I was a jock, a football, basketball, and baseball hero. But during the summer, we were all in the same gang. In fact, most of the lifeguards were dating the snack stand and pool house girls.

We found out that we had a lot in common. We liked the same bands and the same movies. We both rooted for the Tigers and the Lions. And we both were kids without Moms. Well, her Mom had died a couple of years ago. My parents were divorced and my Mom remarried and moved out of state. I stayed with my Dad. I had just had a very successful freshman year of high school and didn't want to possibly lose my spots on varsity teams for next year by switching schools.

We became real close that summer. She was so sweet that she never said no to anything that I wanted. It had been a very special time. I was her first and she was mine. We didn't know what we were doing in the beginning, but we figured it out. I thought that she was the only girl that I would ever love. And I told her so. She told me that she would love me forever. Things were perfect. Then school started up again.

Football season was awesome that year. I was one of the team captains, the "big man on campus," so to speak. We were undefeated going into homecoming and it was all because of me. I was the quarterback with the golden arm. Part of it was because of Ella. She was there at every game. Whenever I thought that I was in a tight spot I could always look up in the stands and there she would be, fingers crossed and smiling at me. She was my good luck charm.

We were a couple and everyone knew it. The guys all thought that I was crazy. I could have any girl in the school and I pick little Ella Gracy. It wasn't that she was unpopular or even bad looking, it was that she was shy and quiet. I heard some rumors from the guys that the girls didn't like her so much, especially the cheerleaders. They seemed to think that it was their privilege to date the football players. I shrugged it off. Who wanted to date one of those flamboyant airheads when you could have a girl like Ella?

Then, when homecoming came along, I was elected homecoming king. The head cheerleader was the homecoming queen. Everyone made a huge deal out the captain of the football team being set up with the head cheerleader. At halftime we rode around the stadium in someone's decorated Caddy. Then we were expected to go to the dance together.

I really hadn't wanted to go with _her, _with Mandy. She was this gorgeous blonde who was famous for being pretty generous with her favors to the guys on the team. I would have liked to take Ella, but everyone told me that I couldn't. It would have been an insult to Mandy and we couldn't have that. I explained it to Ella and she understood. She was so sweet about it, just like everything. I promised to make it up to her. I told her that I would take her some place very special.

That made her happy. She really didn't like school dances anyway. She had been acting kind of weird for the past week or so and figured that it was all of the homecoming hoopla. It just wasn't her thing. And I hadn't had as much time for her since school started. Between football practice and studying for my classes, I was real busy. I knew that she was busy too. She had glee club practice and she was getting a portfolio ready so that she could apply to art schools. But she understood. Ella always understood.

So I did my duty and took the head cheerleader to the big dance. It was as bad as I thought it would be. How to you talk to a girl who spends all of her time looking around to see who's looking at her? But I decided to be polite about it. She didn't like that very much. Whatever she had been looking for that night, it wasn't for me to be a gentleman. At the end of the night she was pissed because I just dropped her off at the house. She wanted to go off somewhere and make out. I couldn't get her out of my car fast enough.

"Don't I even get a goodnight kiss?" she whined, after I walked her up to her front door.

I gave her a peck on the cheek and turned to leave.

"What is your problem?" she demanded.

I looked back at her and didn't know what to say. The truth was that the only reason that I took her was because I had to. Given a choice, I would have preferred to go with Ella.

"Sorry, Mandy," I replied, not feeling very sorry. "But I already have a girl."

She looked shocked. She must have known about Ella. I guess that she just couldn't believe that I would pick her over the head cheerleader.

"Do you mean to say that I wasn't your first choice?" she asked.

"No," I said, trying to be nice about it. "But everyone told me that you would be real disappointed if I didn't take you, so I did. But I did have a good time."

She looked like she didn't believe me. Maybe she wasn't as dumb as she looked. I don't think that anyone had ever told her that she wasn't the most beautiful and desirable girl in the world. But at that moment the expression on her face was most unpleasant. It hardly made her look desirable.

"Well, just don't tell anyone about tonight," she hissed. "Don't do anything to ruin my reputation."

"Okay," I said and walked away. I wasn't exactly sure of how I might do anything to harm her reputation, such as it was. We hadn't done anything.

But the next day, when I tried to call Ella, her Dad said that she wasn't around. Then I didn't see her in school on Monday. I asked about her, but nobody seemed to know. It was like she just vanished off the face of the earth. I missed her. I wanted to apologize again for not taking her to the dance and I wanted her to know that I had a pretty bad time taking Mandy. I wanted her to know that if I had to do it all over again, I would have taken her.

But now she was gone and I didn't know what to think. All the same, I had college applications to fill out. I had scouts from all kinds of schools coming to look at me. I lost track of time and it wasn't until a couple of months later that I found out that Ella's father had withdrawn her from school.

I tried calling, but he didn't want to talk about it. He said that he didn't know where she was. She had just disappeared, but if he heard anything, he would give me a call. He sounded real sad. I didn't know what to say, so I hung up. He never called me.

All of this is running through my mind as McBride is looking at me. He must be a very patient man, because he seems to be giving me time to put my thoughts together. He is watching my face very carefully and his own expression softens.

"I get the sense that you remember Ella Gracy very well," he says more gently.

"Yes, she was a very special person to me," I say, finally finding my voice. "I was very fond of her. I never knew what happened to her. I have never forgotten her, I just haven't thought about her in a very long time."

He nods sympathetically.

"Were you just fond of her?" he asks.

"No," I reply. "I guess you could say that I loved her. She was my first real girlfriend. But then she disappeared."

"Mr. Price, I know that I am prying," he continues. "But what do you mean by your first _real _girlfriend?"

This is quite definitely prying and I have no desire to share this very personal bit of information with a complete stranger. I decide to answer a question with a question.

"What do you know about Ella?" I ask with an edge in my voice.

He raises his eyebrows.

"Mr. Price, I understand that I am asking you a very invasive question," replies McBride. "However, the manner in which I proceed; the information that I impart, requires an honest answer from you."

There is something about the man that makes me trust him. He seems like a very straightforward guy. But I still don't want to answer him directly. I mean, I hardly know this guy and he seems to know a lot about me. Of course, most people know a hell of a lot more about me than I know about them. It's been one of the drawbacks of my success.

"What exactly is your profession, McBride?" I ask sharply.

He looks surprised at my bluntness, but then gives me a small smile.

"I am a private investigator, sir," he says smoothly. "My particular specialty is finding lost loved ones."

"Do you know where Ella is?" I ask, perhaps a little too eagerly. "Is she looking for me?"

His expression changes to one of regret.

"Your response indicates to me what your relationship was with her. I believe that you had a very close, intimate relationship with her," he says. "I am sorry to inform you that Ella Gracy passed away twenty-four years ago."

I feel as if the man has just punched me in the gut. While I never thought about Ella very much recently, after I went to college and even after I started working, I had imagined that someday we might run into each other again. In fact, until I met my wife Melissa about sixteen years ago, I hadn't pictured myself marrying at all. I had dated plenty of nice girls during college and beyond, but I had also been pretty busy.

I can see that McBride is allowing me time to absorb the information. He can see that I am struggling with my emotions. He is clearly good at what he does. I catch my breath and ask the inevitable question.

"How did she . . .?"

He can see that I can't finish the question. I can tell from his expression that this isn't going to be pretty.

"Ella Gracy apparently moved to Detroit when she left Traverse City," he said. "She became involved in prostitution, we are guessing, to support herself and her crack habit."

I put my head in my hands. This is incredible. It has to be a mistake. Ella wouldn't even drink alcohol the way normal teenagers do. There is no way that she would have gotten into drugs. This cannot be the same person. Maybe some crack whore found her license and stole her identity.

"This cannot possibly be true," I finally say. "Whoever it is that you think is Ella Gracy, it is not the girl that I knew in high school."

He shakes his head.

"Mr. Price, I am very good at what I do," he says kindly. "I would not have brought you this tragic news unless I was certain that I was correct. There is more."

"I don't want to hear any more!" I shout. "Do you understand? You have made a huge mistake. That woman you are describing could not possibly be Ella. Now get out of my office!"

Once again, he shakes his head regretfully.

"Mr. Price," he says calmly. "I am going to leave you with my card. If you check with the Bureau of Vital Statistics in Michigan, you can find the death certificate on file. You may choose for yourself whether to believe that there were two Ella Gracys the same age and with the same dental records or not. If you wish to learn what else I know, you may call me."

I wave my hand at him and he quietly leaves, but not before placing his card down on the table in front of me. I pick it up and almost tear it apart, but then put it down again. I return to my desk and pick up the reports that I was looking at before McBride came in and essentially ripped my heart out.

All that I can think of is work, work and Melissa. When I go home, I will talk it through with her. She knows all about Ella. It was one of those things that I shared with her when I realized that I had finally met the woman that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

At that time, she had asked me if I had ever truly put my feelings for her aside or if she was going to have to share me with a ghost. I assured her that she was the only one that I wanted. And she is. But I also know that I can't keep this from her. As much as I would like for this meeting to be the end of it, I sense that it is only the beginning.

I go back over to the conference table and pick up McBride's card and slip it in my wallet.

**Elena**

MacBride has made his initial contact and he has done an excellent job. I suspected that Price would need to be approached with a light touch and McBride played it just right. He only told him that Ella was dead. He thought that that was enough of a shocking revelation for one visit.

He has all the information that he needs to prove paternity, but Price needs to be eased into the idea that Ella left town because of him and that led to her ultimate demise. Apparently he really loved her and this news has been a terrible shock. McBride plans to ease him into the news that he has a son, a son whose life was hell on earth until he was adopted.

Price is quite a decent man. He married about fifteen years ago to a lovely woman and has three pretty daughters. After graduating from high school he went out to Stanford for his BA and stuck around for the MBA. But his genius was best put to use in Silicon Valley. He made the right picks in the computer field and now he's a billionaire himself. He is an entrepreneur who knows a good idea when he hears it. Like father like son I guess.

He and his wife are well known for their philanthropic work. They put a lot of money into cancer research, particularly breast cancer. That was how Price's wife's mother died. They're a little too holier than thou for my taste however. They are solid church people and fund a lot of the work that Catholic Charities does.

Ironically, one of their pet causes is the Right to Life and they have dumped quite a bit of money into the anti-abortion movement, including taking care of unwed, pregnant girls. I wonder how Price will react when he finds out what happened to Ella. I already know that Melissa, his wife, will stand by him. She's that kind of woman.

Right now, according to McBride, he's in denial that Ella's dead and that she died of a drug overdose. McBride really had to leave out the part about the kid. Price chased him out of his office as soon as he learned how she died. He decided to give him time to absorb the first part of the story. He even suggested that he do the research for himself about her death. And he could see that after he does that, he will want to know more. He sensed that Ella was very special to him.

Whatever he did to chase her away, he's going to know that he fucked up big time. That will seed the guilt. Considering how sweet and sympathetic his wife is, no doubt she'll stand by him through the whole ordeal. No doubt about it. He is not going to let sleeping dogs, or dead girlfriends, lie.

But the real fun will be watching Christian's reaction. For all these years, he has been convinced that his biological father was a bastard who abandoned his mother. No doubt he thinks that he is some pusher or pimp from her past, even if it wasn't the guy who regularly kicked the shit out of both of them. Now he is about to find out this his old man is one of the most upstanding men in the country. In fact, even though he's never met him, I know he admires him.

And things are going to be different for him now that Ana is pregnant. He'll know now that being a father changes you. For the first time since the crack whore, he's going to have a biological connection to someone. It's easy to reject some evil phantom, who didn't want you. But this is a real, flesh and blood man who will want to do right by his son.

The fact that Ana, really is pregnant changes everything. That was not really a big shock to anyone, except to him of course. It explains his state of mind the night that we last saw each other. I knew that it had to be something like that. But that drama with her ex-boss must have really scared the crap out of him. That kind of thing would scare the crap out of me, and it takes a lot to scare me.

I have never been a fan of the little bitch, but I would never have wished that either she or the baby died. I sure as hell would have liked to hurt, beat her black and blue if i could, but killing someone, even someone that I hate, is just one step too far for me. The only satisfaction that I have gotten out of the whole event is that Linc finally got what was coming to him. Talk about hating someone! Posting bail for that creep was crazy. Anyone with half a brain could have figured out that he would try to pull some stunt.

What a story! Hyde and Christian were once in the same foster home together back in Michigan. They tried to keep the details out of the news, but what the hell. This story was worth gold. And it must also have Christian thinking about those years back in Detroit. Those years that Carrick and Grace have worked so hard to erase. But they are about to come back in full living color.

**Grace**

I still can't believe that it was Linc who posted bail for that lunatic Jack Hyde. What was he thinking? I have known that he has harbored feelings of anger and resentment towards Elena. And more recently of course I found out that Christian was the cause of the marriage breaking up. But as far as I am concerned, that was her fault, not his.

I am so glad that the news media have finally given up rehashing the story of Ana's kidnapping. Carrick is furious that there was a leak to the papers about the Detroit connection. Unfortunately, there was no way to trace it. Too many people in the police department and prosecutor's office knew about it. But in the intervening weeks, the change in Christian has been nothing short of miraculous.

Ana believes that he has finally managed to reconcile himself to his birth mother's life and death. I have always tried never to think to hard about that. My nature as a doctor has always been to feel deeply sorry for women like her. I have no idea of what brought her to that state in her life, but I also know that she wasn't always like that. Christian bears none of the ravages of fetal alcohol syndrome or fetal drug addiction. If he had, he might have been separated from her at birth.

I have never dwelt too much on who she was and where she came from. During the two-month waiting period, the state went to no extraordinary lengths to try and find any living family members who might have wanted him. Family Services is always over-stretched in their resources, both financial and personnel wise. The fact that no one even came to claim his mother's body indicated that she, and therefore Christian, probably had no relatives.

And we were waiting to adopt him. All of the paperwork and home visits were in order. He would be in the system and under the financial responsibility of the state for the shortest time possible. Although Carrick and I had the resources to perhaps track down his family ourselves, we made the decision that we wanted him in our care. We always knew that he was going to be a challenge, but we have never once regretted our choice to take him in and raise him as our own.

We convinced ourselves that any family who might be turned up might be willing to take him out of guilt, rather than love. We had the resources to deal with his issues and problems. We could love him just as much, if not more, than any family member. I knew that he trusted _me _in a way that he would trust no one else. I couldn't give him up.

And now he has gone from frightened to ecstatic about his child. In fact, he went with Ana to her most recent obstetrician appointment and called immediately to tell me all about it. He got to see the baby on the ultrasound. Dr. Greene informed them that it was definitely a ten-week baby. Even if Ana had gotten her Depo-Provera shot on time, the last one had run out early. But the baby was apparently awake and "dancing" already in the womb. Of course, Ana can't feel it yet, but she is likely to have a very lively baby in a few months.

They also brought us out to see the new house. Elliot is quite proud of the work that he is doing. Even if they are not in by Christmas, they will have plenty of time to get ready for the baby in May. Kate is disappointed that Ana will be unavailable to be her matron-of-honor, but Mia is thrilled to fill in. She tried to convince Elliot that he wanted Ethan as his best man, but Elliot will have no one but Christian.

Mia is still chasing after Ethan in a most ridiculous way. Despite the fact that both Kate and Ana have suggested that she play hard to get, she refuses to listen. At least Ethan is not leading her on. He is very busy settling into school and has just come through midterms. When she complained, he told her that she needed to do something with her life and either get a job or go back to school.

She went to Christian about a job, but he told her that he couldn't help her unless she earned a college degree. Hopefully, this will be an incentive to go back to school. Kate suggested that she try retail because she is such a champion shopper. She's thinking about it. There are times when I am afraid that we have really spoiled her. She was never a very good student in school. Her teachers always told us that she was bright enough, but didn't have any self-discipline.

Today, I am looking forward to having lunch with Ana. It's unusual, but she seems to be less driven in her job since she found out about the baby. And she has finally getting used to the fact that she and Christian own the company. She still isn't sure that she wants to run it however.

"So how is the little mother?" I ask as we sit down.

She smiles serenely.

"Doing very well," she replies. "I think that I am past the worst of the morning sickness. Christian is happy because I have such a healthy appetite but Dr. Greene has warned me about gaining too much weight."

"Well, you've always had such a slim figure, I can't imagine that that will be a problem." I say. "I suppose that you're not seeing Claude anymore."

"Actually," she answers. "Dr. Greene thinks that it is a good idea if I keep exercising. She says that I have to change my routine, but birth will be easier if I am fitter."

"Well, as long as the doctor says that it's okay," I agree. "And Dr. Greene is the best in Seattle."

She blushes a little.

"Yes, that's why Christian wanted me to see her in the first place," she says.

"Speaking of Christian," I say. "How is his adjustment to impending fatherhood going?"

Ana giggles.

"He is reading every book that he can find on pregnancy," she replies. "In fact, when he started going on to Dr. Greene about what _she _should and should not be doing, she nearly threw him out of the office."

"Oh?" I say. "Christian didn't tell me that."

"I'm sure that he didn't," she says. "He was kind of embarrassed. Dr. Greene doesn't suffer fools gladly and she made him feel a little foolish."

I shake my head fondly.

"Poor Christian," I say. "He always wants to be in control of everything."

"Wait until the baby comes," she smiles.

We both look at each other and laugh.

"Then we'll see who's really in control of our lives!" she says.

After lunch, as I am getting in my car, I think of how lucky that I am to have such a lovely daughter-in-law. I feel a bittersweet pang because I never had the opportunity to experience all of the feelings that she is now. But I console myself. I have three wonderful children and I wouldn't trade any of them for the world.

**Christian**

It's been another bright day. The weather has been beautifully clear for the last two weeks. Ana is feeling much better. As usual, she is headstrong and feisty. Now that we no longer have to worry about Hyde and the mischief he caused, she has insisted on a cut back in security. Fortunately, she consents to keeping Sawyer on. However, she has been most stubborn about driving herself back and forth to work.

Mother has decided to take her side and had informed me that pregnant women drive all the time. I know that, but I don't see why she insists on driving when she doesn't have to drive. Oh well, sooner or later she won't be able to fit behind the wheel and then she will be only to happy to let Sawyer drive her.

I think that she has finally gotten used to having Gail do all the housework and most of the cooking. Of course, since we got the news about the baby, Gail has been doting on her. She never had any children herself so she says that she is looking forward to the patter of little feet. Sometimes when the two of them start talking I almost feel like an outsider. Then Ana rolls her eyes at me and accuses me of being such a man, as if I could change that.

She is taking advantage of the fact that I don't want to spank her by rolling her eyes at me frequently now. I suspect that she has always wanted to do it more often. I find it hard to get as annoyed with her as I used to. In fact, I find myself inclined to indulge her whims as much as Gail does. Although now that Dr. Greene has warned her about gaining too much weight, I have stopped nagging her about eating.

Life with my wife and impending child has taken on a peaceful air. Mother has told me that she doesn't want Ana to have any more worry or stress, which means that I need to keep my temper under control, or out of her sight. I find that I am less inclined to anger anymore. Now that I have gotten Elena Lincoln out of my life, there is no more inner turmoil, no more unfinished business.

For the first time that I can remember, I feel as if there is nothing hanging over my head from the past. And it feels very good.


	3. Chapter 2

**Hell Hath No Fury**

**Chapter 2**

**Price**

"Chris, what's wrong?" asks Melissa. "You've been brooding all night."

"Are the girls in bed?" I ask. "I don't want them to hear any of this."

"Yes, they are" she replies. "Something is clearly bothering you. I think that you need to let go of it."

I sigh, knowing that she is right. And there is no one else that I can tell this to, explain this to. Melissa is my deepest confidante. She knows everything about me, all my secrets. She knows about Ella.

"I had a visitor today," I begin. "A private investigator. He had news about Ella."

"Ella?" she says quickly, her eyebrows shooting up in astonishment. "Is she looking for you?"

"She's dead," I answer bluntly. I can't tell it any other way. I just have to get it out. I then wait as Melissa soaks in the news.

I watch as a myriad of emotions cross her face, but like McBride, I decide to let her process things in her own time. The first expression is shock. The second is a sigh of relief or compassion. It is difficult to tell. She seems to be struggling with what she feels. Eventually, her eyes convey sympathy.

"I'm very sorry, Chris," she finally says. "I know what she meant to you. Do you know how she . . . went?"

"She died of a drug overdose twenty-four years ago," I reply. "She apparently had become a prostitute to support her crack habit."

"Crack?" whispers Melissa, as her face reverts to shocked. "But that doesn't sound anything like the girl that you have always described. Are you sure this isn't a mistake? A case of mistaken identity?"

"The investigator, a man named McBride," I answer. "Claims not. He told me to check out the facts for myself with the Michigan Bureau of Vital Statistics. She was . . . found in Detroit. I've already hired someone to look into it."

"Good," she nods. "You need to know for certain. This is terrible. I know how much you loved her. Can I do anything to help?"

I feel uncertain now. Of course, Melissa wants to help, to comfort me. But I need her advice about something first.

"Mel, there's something else," I say tentatively.

"What, Chris, what else?" she asks.

"I don't know," I admit. "I threw McBride out of my office before he could tell me. I was so angry. He left me his card. He said that when I was ready, when I had confirmed his story, that I should call him back and he would tell me."

Melissa is silent and once again, I watch as her face betrays her conflicted emotions. I know that she is thinking the same thing that I am. And I can see that it scares her. As always, her love for me wins out.

"If you confirm his story, Chris," she says quietly. "I think that you must call to McBride. If you like, I will be there with you, to support you."

I look into her beautiful blue eyes deeply. They reveal the deep love that she holds for me. My wife is my life. She is the mother of my three beautiful daughters. For the past sixteen years, we have shared everything. I know that wherever this leads, she will always be at my side.

"So you have confirmed my story?" asks McBride as he sits opposite Melissa and I in my office.

I decided that he should meet with us there. The girls, ages 14, 12, and 10 are at a very curious age and I don't want to take any chances of them eavesdropping or walking in on any private discussions. McBride wasn't at all surprised to see Melissa with me. But then everyone knows how close we are. He didn't have to be an investigative genius to figure that out.

"Yes, I have," I reply.

"I am sorry for your loss," he says, although it sounds more perfunctory than genuine. I wonder how many times he has had to say that in his long career. I steel myself.

"What else do you need to tell me?"

"Mr. Price," he begins gently.

Oh, this is going to be bad, I think.

"Mr. Price, when Ella . . . or Miss Gracy if you prefer?"

"Ella is fine," I say. "Please get on with it."

"When Ella passed away, she wasn't alone," he finishes. "She was found with a four-year-old boy, a son named Christian."

There is dead silence in the room. Finally, Melissa speaks.

"Christian?" she asks quietly, as if to confirm what she had just heard.

"Christian," he nods. "Among her papers there was a birth certificate for him, Christian Gracy, no middle name."

"And no father's name," says Melissa.

I am glad that she is with me. I don't feel capable of asking any of these questions for myself. McBride is clearly trying to tread lightly, not to impart his information too quickly for us to absorb.

"No father's name," he confirms. "He was born in May of 1983. But he was lucky. His mother did not begin her drug abuse until after he was born. However when he was found, he was living in appalling conditions. He had been with his mother's dead body for four days before her pimp found her and notified the authorities."

"Oh, my . . . " Melissa can't finish her words.

I can see tears forming in her eyes. I can feel them in my own eyes. My son, our son, my son and Ella's, were living in the squalor of some crack house in Detroit. My wife reaches over and holds me in her arms as I begin to shake with sobs. Ella, my Ella, was reduced to those circumstances. And my son, named after me, was dragged down with her. A thousand questions, a thousand recriminations bombard my brain.

Why didn't she tell me? We would have figured it out. I would have taken care of her. Why didn't I look harder for her? But what did I know? I was a kid myself. I assumed that her father would have. How did she end up like that? It was completely out of character for her. Why did this happen?

Once again, McBride sits before us quietly, patiently waiting for me to regain control of myself. Realizing that there is still more to learn, I settle myself and look up.

"If you wish," he says gently. "I can return tomorrow, or another time. This is a lot to take in at one time."

"Please, tell us something," says Melissa. "Something that is positive about this."

"I can do that," he replies, seeming to be relieved by her question. "Young Christian was adopted by an affluent couple. He has been well-cared for since."

"Thank God for that!" Melissa breathes a deep sigh of relief, reflecting my own emotions.

"Mr. and Mrs. Price," he says. "I think that I should return tomorrow, to finish the story. But I do have one question. I am assuming, Mr. Price, that you are accepting that this child may be yours?"

"Who's else could he be?" I ask.

"Well," he says tentatively. "Just because she wasn't using drugs during her pregnancy, doesn't mean that she wasn't a prostitute at that time. If you have any doubt about paternity . . ."

"No doubt!" I snap back at him, pleased at the opportunity to vent some of the anger that is beginning to mix in with my sorrow. "I can do the math. Ella was with me, only me, if she gave birth in May of '83. I won't have anyone thinking otherwise, no matter what happened later."

"I see," he nods. "I was just trying to establish the facts. As I said, I specialize in finding long lost loved ones. But there is nothing worse in these kinds of cases if there are doubts, or there may be some kind of deception, even inadvertently, on my part."

"Tell me," I ask. "Has my son been looking for me?"

He shakes his head.

"Then how did you end up on this case?" I ask sharply.

Now he looks a little uncomfortable.

"I am not at liberty to reveal that, sir," he states. "But I can assure you that there is no malicious intent on the part of the person who hired me. Just to be sure, I am going to suggest a DNA test to irrevocably establish paternity."

"We've established paternity," I state coldly.

"I'm not sure that your lawyers would agree," he replies. "You are a very wealthy man."

Now I roll my eyes, but Melissa lays her hand on my arm.

"I think that it is a good idea, Chris," she says quietly. "It may be required for the . . . boy to accept you."

"He's not a boy anymore," I say thoughtfully. "He's a 28 year old man. You're probably right."

"I take it that you will want to meet him?" asks McBride in surprise.

"Of course," answer Melissa and I together.

He gives us a quick nod.

"DNA test," he says firmly. "And then the rest of the story. I am very sorry that I have brought you this news, but I do not wish to bring you any more grief until we are sure."

"We are sure," I say tightly, as Melissa nods.

"One step at a time," he insists.

We have no choice but to agree. He takes a quick swab from the inside of my cheek and is on his way. Melissa looks at me sadly.

"I am so sorry, Chris," she says simply.

"Why?" I ask. "You had nothing to do with this. All this happened long before we met."

"I'm sorry that you have to go through," she replies quietly. "But the girls and I will stand beside you."

"The girls?"

"Will have to know," she finishes. "But not until the tests are back, until we know for sure."

I put my head in my hands. In my shock at this most recent revelation, I had forgotten about them. They have always wanted a baby brother. We wanted another child too, but it just hasn't happened. I wonder what they will think of a big brother, a big, 28 year old brother who their father abandoned years ago.

**Elena**

No malicious intent? I think to myself. I really have snowed McBride well. Well, no malicious towards Price anyway, or Christian for that matter. He is going to be shocked to discover who his fine upstanding father is, not the asshole hat he always thought that he was. And the fact that Price and _his wife _want to meet him is just icing on the cake. There is no doubt that meeting his real father is going to upend Christian, but the person who is really going to be thrown is Grace. She and Carrick are both going to have to answer a lot of questions.

It wasn't really all that difficult for McBride's firm to trace Ella back to Traverse City and then to find old schoolmates of her and Price. Anyone with half a brain back in 1987 could have done it easily with Christian's birth certificate and then finding the homeless shelter for women where Ella had ended up before she had the baby. And luckily, the woman who helped her through and to whom she had confided her life story still worked there a few months ago when I started the search.

McBride assured me that Price was sufficiently devastated that if he had known about Ella and/or her son he would have taken care of them. But then, no one had wanted to look too hard when the potential adoptive parents were so eager and had the money to take him in right away. The idea of looking for family members had only extended to Ella's family anyway. There was no father's name on the birth certificate. And by the time that Ella was dead, her father had long moved away from Traverse City. I guess that no one else cared.

Price's wife's eagerness to stand by her man is a bonus. She could have been an obstacle to my ultimate goal of reuniting father and son. What will Christian do when he discovers that rather than being a pimp or a John, his father is actually a wealthy, big-hearted philanthropist who lost the love of his life because of the lies his homecoming date told her.

I could almost feel sorry for Ella if she hadn't been so stupid. Any normal woman would have gone to her boyfriend and asked him what the hell he was doing fucking around with the girl that he had claimed that he had been forced to take to the big dance. I guess that that's what happens in these small towns. Instead she takes her broken heart off to the big, bad city and ends up dead a few years later.

She turned out to be a selfish bitch in the end. She should have given up Christian for adoption when he was born, like the woman at the shelter wanted her to. Then, she turned to drugs to cope and let her pimp abuse her son when she was too fucked up to notice. Of course she also let him beat the shit out of her. No doubt about it, she would have made a great sub. But then again, no Dom is going to want a little kid tagging along for the ride.

At least McBride has fallen for my story hook, line, and sinker that I want to remain anonymous because I don't want any credit as the benefactress. All I want is to reunite a long lost father and son. He'll keep my secret. And Christian won't find out either. I know all about Welch and his capabilities. I know exactly how to fly under the radar. And while I'm not going to have a ringside seat for the main event, I am sure that the press will have a field day.

Lucky thing that before Christian broke it off with me that I took the precaution of getting a "sample of DNA." I have the test results and McBride will be able to match them with Price's. Even though Price might not need a test, Christian sure as hell will want proof. That's the way his mind works. But at least he won't be able to accuse his biological father of being a fortune hunter. Daddy dearest is way up there on the most wealthy list with sonny boy. The more that I think about it, the better it gets.

**Christian**

"John, I'm still worried about whether or not I'm going to be a good father," I say in answer to Flynn's opening question.

Flynn laughs.

"Christian," he replies. "I hate to tell you, but so does every other man who finds out that he is going to be a parent for the first time."

"Even you?" I ask skeptically.

"Even me," he nods. "It's one thing to listen to other people's problems and try to solve them. It's another when its your own. No one can know ahead of time whether or not they will be a good parent or even that the choices you make once your child is born will be correct. All you can do is try to do the best that you can."

"That's what Ana says," I admit.

"Listen to her," he suggests. "I bet that she is scared too."

"Yes, she is," I agree reluctantly. "But it's different for her."

"In what way?" he asks.

"Well, Carla may be a bit of a fruitcake," I explain. "But she is a loving mother. And her Dad did the right thing and married her when she got knocked up. But, me, well, my father."

"You're talking about your biological father now," he says.

"Of course, my Dad is, well, he's perfect," I reply. "You know what I mean."

Flynn looks at me closely. He is deep in thought.

"Christian," he finally says. "I think that you're feeling that old dilemma of nature versus nurture. Your biological father, whoever he was, abandoned your mother, presumably either because she was as she was, or she became that because she was abandoned. We'll never know now, will we? But you've been raised by a very good man. From what I can see, Carrick is not a bad role model for you to follow."

"But he's perfect and I'm not," I reply.

"So we're back to this again, are we?" he asks. "Your family is perfect and you don't fit in with them because you're damaged goods. Christian, at some point you're going to have to get over that. And for the record, I don't think that Carrick is perfect."

"Of course he is," I say.

"No," Flynn shakes his head. "He's no more perfect than you or I. Perfection is a very high standard to hold anyone to, even your father and mother. Now you have every reason to idealize them because they most certainly rescued you from a hellish existence. But you also need to allow them to be human."

I'm still not entirely comfortable with this line of reasoning, and I can't hide my skepticism.

"Christian," he continues. "Most of us parent in two ways. Unconsciously, we tend to model our parents' behavior. In that case, you're in luck, because you have to excellent role models. But we also have a tendency to reject some of the ways that our parents raised us. That's because they might not have worked."

"I'm not sure that I know what you mean," I reply.

"Well," he says. "Let's first of all stay away from your birth mother's issues since there is no way that you would replicate those behaviors. Let's use a hypothetical model. Let's say that you had a father, or mother, who was a workaholic and was never at home for you. Your inclination as a parent, hopefully, would be to be a greater presence in your children's lives."

"That makes sense," I nod.

"In your case, you know absolutely nothing about your biological father," I continues.

"More like sperm donor," I add bitterly.

"If you like," he concedes. "In this case, it's better not to try and draw any comparisons with him. Logically, the lesson that you have learned from him is not to abandon the mother of your child, yes?"

"There's no chance of that happening," I say defensively.

"Of course not," he says soothingly. "Therefore, whatever your biological father may or may not have been is immaterial as to how you parent your own children."

"That does make sense," I admit.

"Good," he says. "So it's perfectly normal that you should worry about whether you will be a good father or not."

"Come again?"

"It's _normal, _Christian," he says emphatically. "I know that you generally don't associate that adjective with yourself, but it's time for you to realize that sometimes you do actually display normal tendencies and behaviors."

"Normal," I repeat and turn the word over in my mind.

Flynn is right of course. I never have considered myself normal. But now that things have really gotten good in my life I guess that I am kind of becoming normal. I have a great wife, a comfortable existence, and a baby on the way. And I'm worried about being a new father because it's normal. I look up and smile at Flynn.

"I guess there's hope for me yet," I say.

"No guessing involved, Christian," he laughs. "There's always been hope."

"Yeah, no thanks to the no good, son of a bitch sperm donor who fathered me," I say bitterly.

"You have to walk before you can run," he shakes his head again.

I'm not exactly sure of what he means by that. But if he thinks that I'm ever going to forgive the bastard for what he put me, and my birth mother, through, then he might as well give up hope.


	4. Chapter 3

**Hell Hath No Fury**

**Chapter 3**

**Grace**

We have just had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with the family and it was the best in years. All three of my children were present. Christian's wife was there of course and Elliot's fiancée. We also invited Kate's parents and her brother, along with Ana's father, mother, and her mother's new husband. The only unpleasant note was that Ray felt a little uncomfortable around Bob. But I didn't want Ana's mother to feel left out, so there was no way to avoid inviting him as well. Bob did not seem discomfited in the least.

I suppose that now that my two sons are married or getting married that I will need to get used to sharing them with their new families. Kate's parents would like her and Elliot to come to their house for Christmas. I suppose that we will have to get used to this kind of holiday rotation.

Mia is a bit put out because Ethan has not invited her to come as well, but they have only been out on a couple of dates. She is certainly not in the same category of relationship with Ethan as Elliot is with Kate. Besides, it would be very lonely for us with only Christian and Ana. Carrick also says that it is good for Mia _not _to get her way all the time.

These kinds of holiday switches don't seem as if they will be a potential problem with Christian and Ana. Ana has told me that she does not plan on leaving Ray alone for the holidays (and of course, he is always welcome in our home), but he has no intention of going to Georgia to Carla's home.

It is a little selfish of me, but I am glad to know that we will be able to spend the first Christmas with our new grandson next year. And Christian being Christian, he has offered to send his jet down to Georgia anytime that Carla wishes to come and visit. I suspect that she will be only too happy to take him up on that offer.

Yes! The word is official. The ultrasound showed that it is quite definitely a boy. Christian is over the moon. It's not that he wouldn't have loved a daughter equally, but something's something about men wanting a son to carry on their name. He continues to read baby books and parenting books at a furious pace, much to Ana's chagrin. I can't say that I blame her. Every time he reads about something new, he is determined to "buy it or try it," according to her.

She is somewhat less feisty than before. She is beginning to acquire that serenity that pregnant women often do. I know that she will be glad when her mother returns home. Carla is nice enough in small doses, but she wears her welcome out quickly. She really does view Ray as her father, especially since he accident when she almost lost him. However, Carla continues to talk about her "real" father as if he was some kind of super hero, or something. How can anyone compete with _that?_

I know that it makes Ray uncomfortable, even if it makes her present husband, Bob, amused. But then, Bob has never acquired any kind of "stepfather" status in Ana's life. She always refers to him as "her mother's husband." It must be so difficult to have these kinds of ambiguous relationships. And it does make family get-togethers so much more complicated. One must be sensitive to his feelings and be careful with the seating arrangements.

Luckily, Ethan and his father like fishing as much as Ray does. And Carrick could talk all day about golf with Bob. Neither of the boys has ever taken to it. Carla can talk about anything to anyone. Fortunately, she isn't the pushy type and can be very amusing. Both of Kate's parents are as strong minded as she is. Even though we are all "bonding," so to speak, as family, Ana remains reticent in company. I can see that she much prefers smaller groups. So perhaps she will be happier with the Christmas arrangements when there is a smaller group.

It is amusing to see my son running around to cater to Ana's every whim, or as she tells it, every perceived whim. He is always making sure that she is seated comfortably and that the temperature is just right. And then at home, he and Mrs. Jones are always worried about her diet, although Ana tells me that Mrs. Jones is occasionally insulted when he doesn't "approve" of a meal that she has prepared. He is always driving Taylor and Sawyer crazy with new security measures. Considering recent circumstances, he has every right to be cautious.

In that case I have to agree with. He has been very concerned ever since the Jack Hyde affair. Ana gripes that their new home will be a fortress. It's one of the downsides of living on seaside property. But when they were looking, I believe that it was the last thing on their minds. Ana fell in love with the view of the sound and the meadow and that was it. It will certainly be a beautiful home when Elliot is finished with it.

"So were you pleased with the evening?" asks Carrick, as he enters into our bedroom.

"Very," I reply happily.

"Looking forward to Christmas?" he asks.

"Well, not as much as I was," I admit. "I know that Kate's parents have every right to share the holidays with the kids, but I will miss Elliot."

"You were the one who was nagging him to settle down last year," he replies with a smile. "And more subtly, Christian."

"Yes, I know," I say with a sigh. "But at least we can count on Ana and Christian for all of the holidays."

"And Mia," he says, a little mischievously. "Much to her chagrin."

"At least she is enrolling at WSU," I reply. "She's taking Christian's advice and getting a degree n marketing. Then, if she wants to own her own business, she will know what to do. He is afraid that if he just gives her start up money, someone will come in and take advantage of her."

"And she's finally been able to catch Ethan's interest," he says with a smirk.

"Although once she starts school she may meet someone else," I say.

"Well, as long as she stays in school," he replies. "I don't care. She may point out that Christian never finished Harvard as often as she likes, but she has nowhere near his brains or self-discipline. Sooner or later, her lack of focus and ambition was going to catch up with her."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," I say. "Do you think that we've spoiled her?"

"Without a doubt we've spoiled her, although we have had some help from the boys," he replies. "However, once they _both _have wives and children of their own to indulge, they may be less inclined to pay as much attention to her. That's why she needs to have more interests than shopping and going out to clubs with her friends."

"Of course, you're right, dear," I say. "We have been lucky with our children. Haven't we?"

"Very lucky, dear, very lucky," he agrees.

**Elena**

I really don't understand what the hold up is with McBride. He has all the proof he needs that Price is Christian's father. The paternity test came back positive. And he gave him the whole story of how Ella ended up where she did. He says that he needs time to grieve her loss. And he still hasn't told him who his son is. McBride is insisting that Christian be prepared before their meeting.

It's been difficult to contain my impatience, but I know that if I push too hard then he may wonder what my ulterior motive is. And I want to keep my hands off of this. I have managed to get beyond Grace's initial anger and desire for revenge on a social level. Of course, that is so out of character for her that I knew that she couldn't keep it up for long. And she is completely absorbed with her future grandchild. If I want to keep my business in the black, then I need to avoid any appearance of interference of their lives at all.

Sometimes I think about Christian. I really do miss him. Well, I miss the control that I had over his life. And who would have thought that he would have embraced future fatherhood with such intensity? Of course, part of that is his intrinsic nature. But I do hear that when they are out together he always has one arm around her and the other hand ready to rest on her growing "baby bump." The press even caught a photo of them gazing at each other in that position. I wanted to puke it was so sweet. Who ever thought that Christian Grey, master of the universe, would turn into such a sap?

And I also hear that Grace can never stop talking about her two lovely new "daughters," as if Elliot had never been the ultimate man-whore of Seattle. If Christian and Ana's romance was the stuff of fairy tales, as they say, Kate and Elliot are a perfect example of Beauty and the Beast, whom Kate has clearly tamed. That little display in Aspen, when he asked her to marry him, was quite a show, from what I hear. The joke around here is that if he had tried it anywhere in Seattle at least three women in the restaurant would have jumped up and laughed in his face.

But all the Greys are about to get the shock of their lives. I wonder how Mia is going to feel about sharing her big brother with his three adorable little half-sisters. I've done some research on that family for myself and they seem to be too good to be true. All three girls are very bright in school and little athletes. Of course their father did go to Stanford on a football scholarship. And their mother was quite a figure skater back in the day.

Those girls have had every advantage that money can buy, and word on the street is that they are completely unspoiled and following in the footsteps of their generous parents. They all sing in the church children's choir and do all kinds of community service. I wonder what _they _will think of their new big brother. It will be interesting to see how Christian takes to them.

I am sure that Ana will be very sweet and loving to them. And that she will do everything that she can to help Christian accept his other family. I wonder how Grace and Carrick will accept them. McBride told me that Price was very unhappy to discover that the state had made absolutely no attempt, or at least only the bare minimum required under the law, to find any of Christian's family. It turns out that he was in Traverse City at the time that Ella overdosed. And it turns out that he was constantly on the lookout for any mention of her in the papers.

Traverse City was small enough that he would have heard if anyone in town had heard anything about Ella. The excuse may have been that her father had moved away so "the trail had gone cold," but it never occurred to anyone that the father might be from there. Price was willing to accept paternity without the DNA test, but cautious as ever, McBride insisted on it. He wanted no loose ends if the lawyers got involved.

However, no one is going to accuse either father or son of going after the other's money. Both of them are billionaires in their own right who spend half their lives deciding who to give away their money to. And both of them are self-made men. Like father, like son, no two ways about it. But is that Thanksgiving is over, I am hoping that McBride just moves on with it, right in time for Christmas!

**Price **

It's been three weeks since McBride informed me that the man in question is indeed my son. He knows who he is and where he is, but he wants to be the one to make contact first. He also wants to give me time to think things through, and to fully accept Ella's death. He has already warned me that there is a very good probability that my son will reject me.

It is probably just as well that he is insisting on the wait. Melissa and I still have not told the girls. We have decided to wait until after contact is made so that we can definitively tell them that they have an older brother. Again, this is McBride's idea. They are all at an age where Daddy is still their hero and their idol. They will be very confused if they have a brother who doesn't agree and it may affect how they respond to him once they do meet him. And hopefully they will respond positively.

Melissa has been my rock through it all. I know that this is difficult for her on another level. Ever since Katie was born ten years ago, we have been trying to have another child. It just hasn't happened. She knows that I truly love our girls, Sarah, Emily, and Katie, but it would have been nice to have a son to carry on my name. I doubt very much that this son will have any interest in changing his name. Of course, why would he? He established his identity long ago. The best that I can hope for is that he won't throw me out of his life completely.

She is still hoping, but she will be 40 on her next birthday. It's not impossible, but it could be dangerous. So we keep trying. The doctor says that there is no reason why it can't happen. I suppose that we will just have to trust God and the mysterious ways in which He works. I have spoken with my pastor about this. I have told him my secret. I trust him not to say anything, as the confidentially of the confessional still remains, despite all the changes in the church.

I have wondered if this is not God's punishment for not taking better care of Ella. But Fr. Joseph says that that is not how God works. It is only how man thinks. We were human and we made a mistake. I made a number of mistakes. But once Ella made her choice and left town without saying anything to me, it was all out of my hands. And I have God to thank that she didn't choose to have an abortion.

She chose life for our son, even if it meant that it ultimately destroyed hers. Some would have argued that it would have been more merciful to abort rather than put him through four years of pain. But in the end, he was saved, and has had a pretty good life since. Whoever he is and wherever he is, McBride tells me that my son is alive and well.

I wonder what he looks like. He certainly won't look like the girls who are the picture of their mother with their golden hair and blue eyes. They are going to be tall like me and they are athletic like the both of us. I wonder if he looks like Ella, with her hazel eyes and light brown hair. She was always so tiny and delicate. It makes me sick to think of what that pimp and those johns must have done to her.

If he looks like me, he is tall with reddish hair and gray eyes. I wonder if he is an athlete and if he ever played sports in school? I wonder if he was a good student. McBride tells me that he is successful, so I am guessing that he probably was. I wonder if he goes to church. I hear that his parents are good people. But, sadly, that does not necessarily mean that they brought him up to be a regular churchgoer.

Ella's story is terribly tragic. Melissa has told me over and over again that it wasn't my fault, but I still blame myself. I made the wrong choice. I should have taken her to the dance and ignored "tradition." Mandy was certainly a girl with a chip on her shoulder. I don't know where she is and I don't want to know. If I knew, I would probably want to kill her. Fr. Joseph says that I need to get over that. She was just as human as the rest of us.

We know the story because the woman who helped her out at the shelter told us. When Ella came in, it was after she had run out of money. She was obviously pregnant so she wasn't turned away, even though they were crowded She told the woman, Patty I think her name is, that she was from Traverse City. She had been too ashamed to stay in town. She was afraid of what her father and everyone else might say. She was upset about me.

It seems that day after the dance, Mandy had found her at work and told her that she should forget about me. She told her that we had slept together the night before and I had told her that she was a much better lay than her, Ella. Ella was heartbroken and went home, got together what money she had and a few clothes, and then got on a bus for Detroit.

Ella was so innocent that she thought that she could get a place with her money and a job. Then she could support herself and the baby. She wouldn't even consider an abortion. She wanted my baby, even if she couldn't have me. Luckily, the shelter was a Christian one, so they certainly didn't want her to abort. They took care of her until she had the baby. Since it was a women and children's shelter, they told her that she could stay as long as she needed.

She only stayed six weeks. They tried to convince her to stay longer, or at least to call her father. But she was afraid that her father would make her put up the baby for adoption. She didn't want that. She wanted my baby, our baby. After she left, they lost track of her for a while.

Then a woman came in off the streets with the story of a girl with a baby who was real messed up. They pumped her for more information, and it sounded like Ella. She was a hooker who had gotten addicted to crack and her pimp was bad news. Some guy had taken advantage of the fact that she was very pretty and lured her into the life.

Patty went to find her. She found the apartment, but the pimp was outside the door. He threatened her with a knife and said that he would find her and kill her if she "touched the bitch." Patty asked about the baby and he told her to "forget about the little shit too." He needed him around to keep the "bitch" cooperative. He was using her child as a weapon against her.

Patty then tried to go to the police, but they were uncooperative. They said that they didn't have the resources to rescue every hooker in the city from her pimp. Besides, if they took her away, her child would have been taken by Child Protective Services and ended up in the system.

Patty hadn't known that Ella had died when McBride found her. Now she feels very guilty because she might have been able to help. But she was young at the time and inexperienced. She felt powerless to do anything. But she had never forgotten Ella and her little baby, Christian. She knew that he had been named after his father. And for as long a she knew her, she knew that Ella never stopped loving me.

McBride told me that when the dust settles, he will take me to Patty, if I like, so that I can speak directly with her. She is still living in Detroit. I want to talk to her. I want to thank her and if she needs anything, I will take care of her. I will also make a large donation to the shelter.

Melissa has suggested that we create our own foundation, or make a large donation to the Sisters of Life. They weren't around when Ella needed help, but they were founded to help unwed mothers, or even married mothers without resources, to keep their babies and start a new life with them. The shelter where Ella had ended up, just didn't have the kind of resources to do that. I want to make sure that no girl like Ella ever ends up that way again.

I've had nightmares ever since I heard the story. I see Ella and her face is sad and reproachful. No matter how many times that Melissa tells me that it wasn't my fault, I'm haunted by her face. And I wonder about my son. I know that I will never be able to make up to him the horrible experience that he had. But I want him to know that I am sorry. And I want him to know who his mother really was. I'm sure that he must hate her for what she did to him.

The other day, with Melissa's help, I went up into the attic and found my old yearbooks. There aren't many pictures of Ella in there, but there she is with the art club and the glee club. They even put together senior pages before she left school. There is a real pretty picture of her there with her full name, "Ella Mary Gracy." Underneath it is her senior quote: "In the end there are three things that last: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love."

Melissa says that he needs to see that. He probably only remembers her as a crack whore. But he needs to know that at one time she was a happy and pretty high school girl with everything in the world to look forward to. But she gave it all up for him. Melissa knows more about that kind of thing than I do. She counsels unwed mothers all the time. She knows the sacrifices that they make when it would be so easy to just get rid of "it." She says that she can make him understand.

**Christian**

"What is it now, Andrea?" I say impatiently.

It has been one hell of a day. It feels like everywhere I turn, shit is hitting the fan. It's one of those days when I realize just how valuable Ros is. It's not her fault that she is home sick with a stomach bug. But every time she's out I realize just how hard she works to screen out the bullshit so that I don't have to deal with it.

"It's Mr. McBride here, sir," answers Andrea.

"Tell the fucker to go away and make an appointment," I growl, only vaguely remembering the name. He's been here a couple of times before.

"He did, Mr. Grey, last week," she says nervously. "That's why he's here."

"Five minutes, Andrea, tell him that he gets five minutes," I yell.

Immediately the door opens and a rather mild mannered man in a brown suit walks in.

"Sir," he says politely. "I believe that what we need to discuss will take more than five minutes. I will make an appointment for a better time."

"Just say your piece and go," I reply sharply. "I don't have time for this shit. I have a business to run."

McBride looks me in the eye.

"Since you are going to put it like that, sir, I will come straight to the point," he says. "I have found your biological father and he wants to meet you."

"What the fuck!" I exclaim.

"I will go now," replies McBride, and turns to leave.

"Get your ass back in here, McBride!" I yell. "Andrea! Hold all my calls!"


	5. Chapter 4

**Hell Hath No Fury**

**Chapter 4**

**Christian**

McBride just left and I don't know who to call, Ana or Flynn. I decide on both. I will ask Ana to meet me at Flynn's. She's working from home today, so she'll have the flexibility to knock off whenever she wants. And I don't give a shit what Flynn is doing or who he's talking to. He is going to see me now.

Once I've taken care of that, I call Andrea in.

"Andrea," I say tersely. "I need to leave now."

"Is Ana okay?" she asks immediately. "And the baby?"

"They're fine," I reply. "Reschedule everything for this afternoon to tomorrow. Hopefully, Ros will be back tomorrow. She thought that it was only a 24 hour bug."

"Yes, sir," she replies efficiently and then hesitates.

"Is everything alright?" she asks tentatively.

No, it's not fucking alright, but it's none of your business, I think, as I glare at her. Taking the hint, she scoots out quickly. When I walk out a minute later, she is busily working at her desk and doesn't look up. Good, I think. I don't pay you to worry about me or my personal life.

Taylor gets me to Flynn's in record. He can see that something is up. Sawyer is already there with the other SUV. I don't need both of them sitting around doing nothing.

"Tell Sawyer to go home," I bark.

Taylor immediately obeys. He knows that if I'm in a shitty mood, and if I'm at Flynn's, and if I've called Ana to come over that something big is going down. You have no idea, pal, no idea.

Ana is already in Flynn's office looking pale as a ghost and sipping water as I walk in. Flynn has moved one of the chairs closer to the couch and it looks like he is trying to sooth her. Oh, great! Maybe I shouldn't have called her. What did Mom say? No stress for the sake of the baby? But now it's too late. If I send her home she'll worry more. Taking a deep breath, I talk over and kiss her head.

"Are you okay, baby?" I ask gently.

She nods but she doesn't look okay. I give her a little smile and place my hand on her stomach.

"How's Blip doing?" I ask, aiming for playful.

She swallows hard.

"He's good," she replies.

She looks up at me with her large blue eyes filled with anxiety. Shit, I should have thought about her and the baby before I called. But I was only thinking about me, as usual. I should have just left her alone. Then, Flynn takes control.

"Christian, why don't you sit down and tell us why you so urgently called us here?" He says calmly. "Right now it's the worry of not knowing that is upsetting Ana the most. Tell us why we are here."

"Is it really bad, Christian?" asks Ana timidly.

Shit, now I've scared her! God damn me! It's not "bad" per se. It's just confusing, annoying, and I don't know what else. It's turned my world upside down and inside out and I don't know what the fuck to think. I close my eyes.

"Not bad," I say. "Confusing as all fuck. I don't even know where to begin."

"Christian," says Flynn in his calm, reasonable voice. "Start at the beginning."

"Shit! I don't even know where the beginning is," I say in frustration.

"Relax," he says firmly. "Clearly something happened today, within hours if I am reading the situation correctly. Start with that. What has happened to throw you into this state of confusion?"

Now I remember why I've probably already paid this guy enough to put his kids through college. He really does know his shit. I can feel myself settling. I look over at Ana and I can see that she is relaxing too. I pick up her hand and kiss it.

"Good girl," I say softly.

She gives me one of her shy, hesitant smiles. God, but she's strong. I'm starting to feel more secure. Yes, I can face this. Yes, we can face this. And Flynn will advise us through it.

"So Christian," Flynn begins. "Tell us what just happened."

I take a deep breath.

"There's this guy, McBride, and for the past week he's been trying to get in to see me," I say. "As if anyone can just walk into my office and talk to me. So I tell him to schedule an appointment, and he did, for today. His timing couldn't have been worse. Ros is out sick and all the shit that she normally deals with is landing on my desk. So I give him five minutes."

I take a deep breath. Ana squeezes my hand and when I look at her, she gives me an encouraging look. Flynn doesn't comment, but he waits.

"Well, I told him to say his piece and get lost, I didn't have time for his shit," I continue. "He said that he wanted more time, but I told him that this was it. So he gives it to me straight, no preamble, no warning."

"That is what you told him to do," points out Flynn, when I stop to take another breath.

"I don't pay you to state the obvious, Flynn," I growl.

"Okay," he says. "Who is this man, McBride? Give us some context."

"Yes, of course, context," I say with a sigh. "McBride is a private investigator who specializes in finding long lost loved ones. He has located my biological father and now this man wants to meet me."

"Oh!" Ana gasps, as Flynn's eyebrows shoot up.

"What did he tell you about your father?" he asks, cool and calm as ever. Does nothing he hear _ever _surprise that man? "Is, or rather was, he a pimp or a John or another drug addict, as you've always assumed?"

Now I'm lost. This is why we're here. It would have been so easy if the guy was the sleazy, low life that I always assumed he was.

"No," I say slowly. "He was a high school kid and my Mom was a high school kid. She got in trouble and didn't tell him. According to McBride, he was all torn up when he found out that she is dead."

"By 'got into trouble,' I suppose that you mean got pregnant?" asks Flynn.

"What the fuck else do I mean?" I reply angrily. "He knocked her up. She didn't tell him and then she left town."

"I'm just trying to establish the facts," he says coolly. "Did he try to look for her? Or did her parents?"

Ana is looking at me with wide eyes. She has spent many hours listening to me rant about my crack whore mother and the worthless, piece of shit sperm donor who was my father. She knows that this changes everything, that this is a complete paradigm shift. But whatever else she is feeling, she seems to be shocked.

"Her mother had died a few years before," I explain. "Her father listed her as a missing person but it seems like he was, shall we say, a man of limited means. My father was just a high school senior and didn't know what to do. But he really did love my mother before she ran away."

"Where did she run?" asks Flynn curiously.

"Detroit, where else?" I reply as I roll my eyes.

"Did he say where they were from originally?" asks Ana, finally saying something.

"No," I grumble. "I think that he knows that I would have Welch, or someone like him, track them down pretty quickly. He wants to orchestrate the meeting, if I want one, between us. He's got experience with this kind of thing."

"Do you want to meet him?" asks Ana quietly.

I run my hands through my hair and then hold my head in my hands. Ana and Flynn wait for my answer.

"I don't know," I finally say.

Flynn is watching me closely, trying to read my reaction to all this.

"I think that you want to meet him," he says.

"Why the fuck do you think that?" I ask, feeling my temper rise.

"Christian!" says Ana reproachfully.

Flynn puts up his hand as if he expected my answer and isn't surprised by it.

"Christian, if you didn't want to see him," he answers reasonably. "You would have thrown McBride out of your office and gone back to your day. You would have been twice as cranky, but you wouldn't have stopped your work day completely. In fact without your trusted second in command there, you had even more incentive to go back to work. Instead, you have called both of us here, forcing us to drop everything else in our lives."

I look at him impassively.

"Your whole world has shifted on its axis," he continues. "This man has, in what, ten or fifteen minutes, blown apart all of the misconceptions that you've had about your birth parents since you were old enough to have them. Tell me, what is your father like now?"

"He has a family, a wife and kids, that's all that McBride would tell me," I say. "He's successful and is a very good man, according to McBride. He didn't deny knowing my mother and in fact, once he heard the date of my birth, immediately accepted paternity. He has given a DNA sample to prove it. Since I am reluctant to simply accept the results sight unseen, McBride asked me for one and my own doctor can the tests."

"Did you give it?" asks Ana before Flynn can.

"Yes," I reply. "I was too shocked to do anything else. I just hope that I won't regret it. I just hope that this isn't some kind of scam. I have Welch checking into the whole thing at any rate."

Now Ana is looking thoughtful. Both Flynn and I watch her. She is obviously turning something over in her head.

"I'm glad that you gave him a sample, Christian," she finally says. "And I hope that this is your father."

"Why?" ask Flynn and in surprise.

"Well," she says. "I was thinking about Blip, about the baby. You know how important family history can be in watching out for various health issues in the future. Even if you don't want to meet this man, perhaps he will give you access to his medical records. And now that your mother's origins have been tracked down we can get hers."

"Ana has a good point," agrees Flynn. "Knowing your parents' medical histories may also be important for you. Since we know that your maternal grandmother died young, what she died of may impact how you move forward with your own health care in the future."

I look at the two of them. I can see that there's more to this than medical history.

"I can see that you both want me to meet him," I comment, as they exchange a glance.

"Christian," says Ana. "I will support whatever decision you make. But it has to be your choice, not mine."

"I think that you should meet him," states Flynn honestly. "But, as Ana says, the choice must be yours. You still have not completely let go of the bitterness that you feel about the first four years of your life. You have acknowledged that you loved your mother, but only because all four-year-olds love their mothers. You still feel that _your _mother was unworthy of your love. However, her memory will always haunt you unless you accept that she is worthy."

"McBride says that one of the reasons that my father wants to see me is so that he can let me know what my mother was really like," I grudgingly admit. "He doesn't want me to see her as just a crack whore. He wants me to know what she was like before that."

"No doubt, a poor, scared high school kid, who was afraid to ask for help and just ran away," comments Flynn. "She would neither be the first nor the last to find herself in that position and behave that way. Look, your greatest fear at present is that you may turn out to be a shitty father because your parents were shitty. If you know the truth, then perhaps it will put those fears to rest."

"I'll stand by you, Christian," says Ana. "You won't go through this alone. I'll be with you every step of the way."

"And so will I," adds Flynn. "When you get the DNA results back, call McBride and set up a meeting. But try to restrain your impulse to have Welch track him down before that. I agree with McBride that the meeting will have to be handled carefully. I would offer to do it, but it sounds like he's the expert."

I nod. Now that I've had time to settle down and think it through, I realize that they are right. Besides, if this guy really is my father, I can holler at him for abandoning us all those years ago. That would feel good. Then I think of something.

"What about my folks?" I ask.

"Don't tell them anything yet," Flynn advises. "I would say that they have no need to know anything until after your meeting, if you have a meeting. You know that once they know, your mother will be very upset and your father is going to start talking about legal action. That's just the way that they are."

"I agree," says Ana firmly.

As I look across at her, I realize that she is no longer anxious. I did make the right decision in bringing her here. If I had waited and told her myself at home, I probably would have gotten her all upset. And that wouldn't been good for either of us, or the baby for that matter. And naturally, the first thing that she thought of when I told her was the baby. I don't give a shit about myself, but I want to make sure that we know everything that we can about my biological parents' medical history, for the the sake of the baby.

**Elena**

Well, finally McBride has "made contact" with Christian and now he knows. McBride is worried about Christian because apparently, he did not take the news well at all. First he went off on one of his swearing tears. Then, he began to bombard him with questions about details that McBride wasn't ready to disclose. He bought himself some time by taking a DNA sample to "confirm." Christian is being pretty obstinate that this man cannot possibly be his father.

Unfortunately, McBride now wants to know where I acquired my sample and what my relationship is to Christian. Luckily, nobody knows the full truth of the matter. Since McBride has signed an NDA with me, he can't push things too far. As far as he knows, I am an old friend of the Grey family. I have given him the line that since Christian's wife is pregnant, they will need the full medical background. He is willing to stick with the anonymous benefactor story, although he has warned me that Price has already figured out that this "benefactor" has nothing to do with him, since the original DNA sample was from his son.

I have no doubt that once Price knows who his son is, he will be on the trail, if only to thank the person for returning his son to him. Apparently, Price and his wife Melissa are very eager to meet his son. I don't know why. Does he think that he can make up for the years of hell that Christian and his mother went through? Maybe it's guilt and he feels sorry and wants to apologize. It would actually serve my purposes very well if Christian does accept him. It could create some real tension with his adoptive parents whom he has never really considered adoptive before.

One thing that I am pleased about is that McBride will give me a heads up on the meeting, although not the place, just the time. This will give me the opportunity to plant a story in the press of the discovery of the mystery father of Christian Grey, one of the most famous adoptees in the US being found. No names will be necessary. Once the word is out, the press, not to mention the paparazzi will be crawling all over Christian and his parents.

That will certainly keep Taylor busy and out of my hair. Of course, I have been smart enough to cover my tracks well. McBride has no idea of my true identity. And I have always contacted him using pre-paid cells from densely populated parts of the city. I have always paid him via anonymous cash transfers from an offshore account in another name. Welch, not to mention Barney, would have to be a fucking genius to penetrate all of the blind alleys that I have set up.

Ironic, isn't it? After listening to Christian go on for years and years about how brilliant those two are and all the time, I was taking notes for myself. I know that they have probably dismissed me as some dumb broad who just happens to be good at the beauty business. Well, the latter part is true, but no one will ever accuse me of being dumb.

I know for a fact that Carrick has been trying to dig up some dirt on me since Christian's birthday party. He is just dying to ruin my reputation in some way, shape, or form. But even he can't find anything. I have always covered my tracks in the BDSM community very well. All my books are in order for my business, thanks to Christian. The only thing he has is my affair with Christian and he certainly doesn't want _that _to see the light of day.

So right now, I am continuing to bide my time. It won't be long before the explosion happens and everything blows apart. One way or another, happily ever after, is about to come apart at the seams. However, all that I really care about is that Christian's relationship with Grace and Carrick comes apart at the seams.

**Grace**

I am not sure of what is wrong with Christian recently, but he has been ill tempered and incredibly closed up. Ana tells me that he is going through a difficult time at work, but I am not sure that she is telling me the truth. She has been much quieter recently as well. Whatever is going on with Christian is clearly having an effect on her. But when I tried to discuss it with my son, he told me to mind my own business.

Kate has also attempted to get Ana to open up, but she has failed. She got the same story that Christian was stressed about work. When she tried to press her, Ana accused her of playing "Carla Bernstein" and told her to butt out. Unfortunately, Kate does have a tendency to get abrasive when she is looking for information from someone. I have tried to hint to her that this could work against her in personal relationships, but she has chosen to ignore me.

Whatever else is going on, I do know that they are looking forward to having Christmas in their new home. Christian has insisted that Ana go on a buying spree to furnish it and has even hired one of the best interior decorators in Seattle to help her. At first Ana was miffed because she thought that he didn't trust her tastes, but then she realized that although she knew what she wanted for the different rooms, she had no idea of where to find it.

And Cristian wants only the best. So using the interior decorator has been a great success. In fact, if she couldn't find what Ana was looking for locally, she has contacts throughout the US who have been able to provide exactly what she wants. Lately, Ana has been more tired, so it really is good that she hasn't had all that legwork to do herself.

Things are progressing nicely with Kate and Elliot's wedding plans. They do not want to have it here, like Ana and Christian did. Kate wants a big church wedding with all the trimmings and the reception in a big hotel where she grew up near Bremerton. It is very different for me than Ana's wedding was. I guess that this is what it really feels like to be the mother of the groom.

Kate and her mother are taking care of all the arrangements and plans. They have asked me to provide them with a guest list, which of course is extensive. Luckily, as money is no obstacle, they have not asked me to cut back. Mia's dress will be lovely and I did have a small say in what was selected. As maid-of-honor she is in charge of the bridal shower and bachelorette party. The shower will be here, but the bachelorette party will be in Vegas. Needless to say, neither Kate's mother or I will be attending, nor will Ana.

I do know that Christian is grumbling about what Elliot wants for a bachelor party, which is for them to go out to Vegas on the same weekend as Kate's party. Christian has volunteered to foot the whole bill, but he does not want to leave Ana so close to her due date. I can't say that I blame him.

I, for one, don't understand what the big deal is for these things, but apparently this is what all the young people do nowadays. I have only recently found out that Ana and Christian had refused to allow Kate and Elliot to organize such nonsense for them. Knowing my older son and his fiancée, I am surprised that they listened.

Fortunately, things have been relatively quiet at the hospital, so I have been able to keep up with all of these exciting plans in the family. Ana has recently taken greater interest in the pediatric care facility. As the wife of an extraordinarily wealthy man, she is realizing that she needs to develop some philanthropic interests of her own. I am very happy that she is looking to me for guidance.

The one thing that I have told her was that the charities that she chooses to sponsor should revolve around issues that are close to her heart. There are many, many worthy causes out there, but it is important to feel a personal connection. I also suggested that she have Christian's people investigate any organization that she has an interest in. Once the word is out that she is looking causes to help financially, I have no doubt that she will be bombarded. She doesn't realize it yet, but she will be considered a very good catch as a donor.

With all of these things to think about, it is no wonder that she has been feeling fatigued recently. Dr. Greene assures her that everything is going splendidly with the baby. Hopefully, whatever is bothering Christian will resolve itself soon so that he can relax and enjoy his first Christmas with his new wife. He has never really liked the holidays before, but I suspect that that will change this year.

**Price**

McBride informs me that my son has agreed to meet with me. Since he is asking to bring his wife, I have requested that I bring my wife as well. He has agreed to that. McBride has requested a neutral location, since neither of us knows where the other lives. Apparently, my son left the Detroit area as a small child. He has also been informed that I no longer live there. We have agreed to meet in Salt Lake City, a place that has no connection to either of us.

I have already told McBride that I want no press coverage at all. I want everything handled with the utmost discretion. Melissa and I do not want to tell the girls until we know that he wants to meet them. The last thing that we need is for them to find out from one of the tabloids or on some Internet site. And while we are very careful to screen their access, I know that the parents of many of their friends are not nearly so scrupulous. As I suspected, my son is completely agreeable.

The only real issue so far is that my son is very paranoid about security. He is giving McBride a very hard time about full disclosure to his personal security, which is apparently quite heavy. I understand this up to a point. Naturally, as a very wealthy man, I have a variety of security measures in place. I trust my people and their ability to screen access, but I prefer not to make such a big deal out of it.

McBride is working hard to negotiate reasonable terms with him. Even with the DNA results conclusively determining paternity, he insisted on running his own tests. I am perfectly willing to go along with any measures to ensure our privacy, but I have put my foot down at the idea of an NDA. I am starting to think that my son is some kind of a control freak.

However, I know that I have to be careful not to be too judgmental. My son got a terrible start in life, if everything that McBride tells me is true. This has undoubtedly scarred him. As envious as I am beginning to feel towards his adoptive parents, I also realize that they have saved him from a wretched existence. I am only sorry that I did not know about it, when Ella died and he was, for all intents and purposes, left as an orphan.

Melissa never stops pointing this out to me. God, I don't know what I would do without her. She has the patience to sit and listen as I run through all the various scenarios of what may happen when we meet. And while she never tries to discourage me, she continually reminds me that my son may not want any further contact after this one meeting.

With that in mind, I have made as careful a presentation as I would for the most important business deal. My primary concern is that he come away from the meeting knowing who his mother was. I have the yearbooks ready, the important pages bookmarked with post-it notes. I have a man working on tracing her father, to see if I can't get any more information about her childhood. So far, his efforts have been fruitless. That is also rather sad. The man lost his only daughter and never knew he had a grandson.

My second concern is that he should understand that I loved Ella as much as she loved me. I want him to know that I feel great remorse for what happened to them and if I had it to do over, it would have been very different. But we can't change the past. We can only move forward into the future. And I want him to be a part of my life in the future. However, if he can't accept this, then I will go quietly. My actions have caused him enough pain. I will not inflict any more.

The details have finally been worked out. Melissa and I will be flying out to Salt Lake City on the corporate jet this weekend. Her parents are staying with the girls at home, even though the housekeeper will be there and is more than capable of babysitting. I don't know why, but Melissa is insisting.

McBride has informed me that he will not be present for the meeting. He said that it is simply his job to bring us together. Once that is accomplished, his work is done and he will not interfere further, unless we require any further information. I suppose that he doesn't want any backlash about anything that he might or might not say. Our wives will be present with us, but they will be the only people.

Neither side is saying anything to anyone about it. Apparently my son also has his own private plane so that both of us will be able to come in as discreetly as possible. His security has been in touch with my security team via McBride, so at least he feels comfortable.

The room chosen for our meeting is a soundproof conference room. Both security teams have swept it for any listening devices. As pre-arranged, Melissa and I will enter first and wait for my son in the room. Before he enters, a thirtyish military type with a crew cut comes in to make sure that we are there. He shows mild surprise when he sees me, no doubt recognizing me from my many pictures in the press, but quickly adopts his previous, impassive expression.

I have brought the yearbooks and they are on the table with a few of my old photo albums from childhood. My own PI continues to look for Ella's father. I am hoping to find him because he may have some childhood photos of her. I think that I am prepared for everything. As the door opens again, Melissa grasps my hand.

As the young man enters, my mouth drops open in amazement and I can feel Melissa's hand tighten.

"What the fuck!"

He utters this expletive, as he and a dark-haired young woman, no doubt his wife, enter.

My biological son is the one and only Christian Grey.


	6. Chapter 5

**Hell Hath No Fury**

**Since some of you have requested an update "sooners, rather than laters," here it is, only one POV. Next chapter may take a little longer to post.**

**Chapter 5**

**Christian**

"What the fuck!"

My mouth goes dry. Is this someone's idea of a bad joke?

"Christian, what is it?" asks Ana anxiously.

She obviously doesn't know that the couple sitting before us is Christian Price and his wife Melissa. He is one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in the country. In fact, we have often been listed on the same rankings compiled by Forbes or other magazines of that ilk. The first thought that runs through my head is that McBride is some kind of lunatic. Or that someone has paid him to organize this "candid camera moment" without the cameras. I'm only surprised that he didn't want to stick around for the fun.

Price, on the other hand, seems to be shocked but in also control of himself. While I have never had any business dealings with him, rumor has it that he is a very smooth diplomat. He finally speaks.

"Christian Grey," he says calmly. "This is quite a surprise. I can see that your reputation for using expletives in times of annoyance is accurate."

He reaches across the table to shake my hand and my innate politeness kicks in. He has a firm grip. Then he turns graciously, in a most gentlemanly fashion.

"My wife, Melissa," he says with a sweep of his hand.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Christian," she says, cordially. "And this must be your wife, Anastasia."

Ana looks confused by her recognition, but also extends her hand. Melissa has no doubt seen the tabloid stories of our wedding. If she recognizes me then she would naturally recognize my wife. I then realize that Ana is the only person here who is not in the loop. She has never had any interest in tabloid stories or celebrity gossip. She's to busy trying to stay as far out of the spotlight as she can.

"Anastasia," I say to her gently, thinking of her condition. "May I introduce Christian Price to you."

"How do you do?" she says shyly, as she nervously takes his hand. He looks at her sympathetically, as if he senses her discomfort and wants to calm her.

"Why don't we all sit down and talk?" suggests Price. "I think that this is an enormous shock on both sides, although I am afraid that Anastasia is not really sure about how we all know each other."

I am immediately fucking pissed at him. Who does he think that he is taking control of this situation? I wonder if he and McBride aren't in together on this charade in some way. There is no fucking way that this man is my biological father. Anastasia still looks confused.

"Price," I say. "I don't know what kind of fucking game that you and McBride are playing, but it is not funny. Who put you up to this?"

Price raises his eyebrows at my language, while Ana says, "hush" under her breath. I can tell that she is embarrassed by my outburst. Price's wife seems to look mildly amused. I wonder what her part in this is.

"This isn't a game, Grey," replies Price. "Your mother, Ella Gracy, and I were more than friends back in Traverse City, Michigan where we grew up. As you know, there is DNA evidence that we are father and son, but if you want we can go through the testing again. This time we'll use your doctor."

"Oh, Chris," says Melissa. "You make it all sound so clinical. Please, show him the yearbook."

"Yearbook?" I ask. "What kind of fucking shit are you trying to pull now?"

Price nods and pulls out a book from the pile beside him. It says Traverse City High School, 1983. He opens to a page that has been marked by a post-it note. I stand up, walk away, and run my hands through my hair in frustration.

"Christian, this is your mother," says Ana suddenly. "I recognize her from the picture in your old bedroom. But she looks beautiful here and she's smiling."

I refuse to turn around.

"Of all the fucking . . ." I mutter.

"We had our senior pictures taken and the senior pages went to the printer before she was withdrawn from school," explains Price, ignoring my words. "If you look farther into the book, you can see a picture of me. In fact, I brought all four years worth of yearbooks, so that you could get to know her, before . . ."

"Before what?" I yell at him, as I turn around. "Before you abandoned her and fucked up her life forever!"

"You certainly do like to drop the f- bomb," comments Melissa mildly. "Someone should wash your mouth out with soap."

I glare at her, but she just looks directly back at me. She reminds me of Mother and her "take no prisoners" attitude when she disciplines us. I think, but don't say for some unknown reason, "and who the fuck do you think that you are?" I look down and see Ana biting her lip as if she is trying to keep from smiling.

"If you ever want to meet your three younger sisters," she continues, arching her eyebrow. "You are going to have to clean up that toilet mouth of yours."

Ana opens her mouth in amazement.

"Christian had three little sisters?" she asks. "What are their names? How old are they?"

"Ana!" I say sternly. "Don't tell me that you are falling for this bullshit? Google it if you want to know all that crap."

She winces but then amazes me with the next words out of her mouth.

"I think that you better clean up your toilet mouth too," she says bravely. "Before the baby is born."

"Are you having a baby?" asks Melissa eagerly. "When are you due?"

"In May," answers Ana, now shyly smiling.

"Oh, Jesus H. Christ!" I interject. "The next thing you two will be exchanging sewing patterns!"

"Is he always this bad-tempered?" Melissa asks Ana, pointedly ignoring me.

Ana looks up at me fearfully and then says, "Only when he feels out of control."

"Holy Mother of . . ." I stop when I see them all looking at me intently.

Now I begin to pace. What the hell is going on? How did I get myself into this? Thanks a lot for your brilliant advice, John Flynn. I'm going to fire your ass as soon as I can pick up my phone, which, unfortunately, is outside with Taylor. Now I feel even angrier. It was my idea that we not allow cell phones in the room. As I continue to walk back and forth, Price quietly speaks.

"Are you through with your tantrum?" he asks. "I think that it's time for us to sit down and have a civilized conversation. I will understand if you never want to see me again. And we have all agreed that no one will know of this meeting, other than your security man, who I assume we can trust."

Of course, we can trust Taylor, why the hell do you think I have him working for me?" I snap.

"But before we leave here today, I want you to know about Ella, your mother," he continues as if I just hadn't interrupted him. "I want you to know about the girl she was before her life fell apart. I understand completely if you want to hate me. Please don't hate her. Everything she did, every choice that she made, up to the point where the drugs consumed her, was all for the love of you."

Once again, I run my hands through my hair. I hate this. I don't know what the hell he is going to say next and I am fucking pissed about it. Why the hell does he have to be such a decent man? That's why he can't be my biological father. My father is a fucked up son of a bitch. I look at him with the greatest look of scorn that I can generate.

"That crack whore didn't love me," I reply through gritted teeth. "And you damn well should know that, you son of a bitch."

Melissa says nothing, but looks at me with disapproval. Price looks deflated, sad even. But I don't care. I want to get out of this room before I hear another word. I look down at Ana and stop dead in my tracks. Her face is a picture of compassion.

She holds out her hand and says softly, "Christian, please. I want to know about her. You know that I always want to know more about you. And I think that you do too. In the long run, I believe that you will be very sorry if you don't sit down and listen."

As always, Ana knows just the right thing to say to get me to do what she wants. She has been curious for months about my mother. And she had been insisting that I loved her. And I can see that her blue eyes are full of sorrow for me, perhaps for my mother also. She could be considering this her moment of triumph, when she is finally proven right about the crack whore, all of her points validated. But instead she just looks sad.

I pick up her hand and sit beside her. Then, I look Price directly in the eye.

"Okay," I acquiesce. "I'll listen."

"I don't know how much McBride has told you," he begins. "But I had the man investigated fully. He's not some kind of a flimflam artist. He is very good at what he does. And I didn't go looking for you, just so you know. Until he came to see me, I never knew that you existed."

"I've checked McBride too," I grudgingly admit. "You're right. He's on the level. But if you didn't go looking for me then who did? I certainly wasn't looking for you."

Price shakes his head.

"All McBride would tell me was an 'anonymous benefactor' had engaged my services in order to find me, your biological father," he says. "I've had my people try to trace this benefactor, but so far they've come up empty."

"I'll have Welch go at it," I say to Ana. "If anyone can find him, he will."

I feel considerably calmer. I am glad to know that it wasn't Price who came after me. Ana points to the picture in the yearbook and I can see that, yes, it is my mother.

"Ella Mary Gracy," I read aloud. "In the end there are three things that last: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love."

For once, I don't know what to say.

"All seniors were given space for their own quote," Price explains. "Ella chose this famous one from Corinthians. Are you familiar with it?"

Ana swallows hard.

"It was the reading at our wedding," she whispers.

"If you scan the other pages that I've marked," continues Price. "You will see that she was in the art club and was the pianist for the glee club. She was a wonderful singer, but it was a great honor to be chosen as the accompanist. Your mother was very talented in the arts. Me? I was a jock."

"A jock?" asks Ana.

"Chris went to Stanford on a football scholarship," explains Melissa. "He was a talented quarterback. But he also played basketball and baseball, and he swam."

"I was a lifeguard at the local town pool," says Price. "That was where I met Ella. She worked at the snack bar. We had one of those summer romances. But it also continued into the school year."

Price stops talking for a minute. He seems to be deep in thought. Even though I really don't want to, I find myself engaged by the story. There is a ring of truth to his words and I can usually tell when someone is lying. It is one of the reasons that I am so fucking good at what I do.

"When school started up again we were both busy with senior year," he says after a pause. "Neither of us had much time for dating, but I still considered her my girl. Then, when the homecoming dance came, I took the wrong girl."

"What do you mean?" asks Ana, who is listening thoughtfully.

"I'm not sure if you can understand this, Christian, because I know that you went to private schools. But in public school, homecoming is one of the biggest social events of the year. Since I was the star captain of the football team, I was elected homecoming king. And of course the head cheerleader was homecoming queen. It put me into an awkward situation with Ella."

"Because you were supposed to take the head cheerleader to the homecoming dance," finishes Ana.

We all look at her and she says, "I went to public school too. Nobody asked me to the homecoming dance, not in all four years."

"So instead of taking Ella, I took Mandy, the head cheerleader," he says. "I had a terrible time and then Mandy got mad at me because I wouldn't kiss her good night or do anything else for that matter, if you catch my drift. Then she got really mad because she figured out that I hadn't wanted to take her at all."

"You're right," I say. "I have no point of reference for this."

"I do," says Ana. "Poor Ella. She must have felt awful."

Price shakes his head. Melissa rubs his back and says," there, there."

"Ella disappeared after that," he continues. "I asked her father about it. Her mother had died a few years before. He wouldn't talk about it, but a few months later he withdrew her from school. I tried to talk to him again, but he refused to say anything. I didn't forget about her, but what could I do? I was just a kid. I was busy trying to keep my grades up do that I could get a scholarship offer from a really good school. I never forgot her."

"Chris told me about her before we got married," adds Melissa. "That was how long he remembered her. He told me that he had always hoped that they would meet again someday."

"But he fell in love with you," says Ana.

"It was hard," says Price. "But after I finally let go, I met Melissa and she's been the greatest blessing in my life, she and the girls. It was a huge shock when McBride came to me with the story of what happened to Ella."

"Please tell us what happened," says Ana. "I mean we know what eventually happened, but how did things get that way?"

I look at her and I'm glad that I brought her. I just don't know what to say, and I'm glad that she is here to ask the questions.

"Ella got to Detroit and ran out of money pretty quickly," he explains. "She ended up in a homeless shelter for women and children. They took care of her. She didn't want an abortion and luckily it was a Christian-based shelter, so nobody tried to influence her in that direction. They respected her decision. And she didn't want to give her baby up for adoption. She told one of the women there, Patty, that if she couldn't have the baby's father, she wanted the baby."

"Do you know why she ran away?" asks Ana.

"I'm afraid that was my fault," answers Price. "You see Mandy went to her after the dance and told her to forget about me. She said that I had cheated on her. Ella knew that she was pregnant at that point, but she was ashamed to go to her father. I don't know about where her father is now, or even if he is still alive. We're looking, but he left town years ago. We don't even know if he's still alive. But if she had come to me, I would have helped her. I would never have abandoned her."

Now I'm at a total loss. What the hell is this guy saying?

"She had the baby, who she named after me," he continues. "But she didn't put my name on the birth certificate. I wish that she had. She stayed with the baby for about six weeks in the shelter and then disappeared. Patty went to look for her when she got a tip a couple of years later, but her pimp told her, and I quote 'stay away from the bitch and don't touch the little shit, he's my leverage.'"

The words echo through my brain from my nightmares. _You are one fucked up bitch! Get out of my way you little shit! _I realize that there is a very strong ring of authenticity to this story, but I still don't want to accept it.

"Couldn't she do anything?" asks Ana. "Patty, that is."

"She tried going to the police, but they refused to help," replies Price. "She didn't even know that Ella had passed away until McBride found her. He's a terrific investigator. He tracked down what happened to you. I was in Traverse City at the time that they were looking for any relatives that you might have. Ella's father had left by then. But Family Services didn't try too hard. They only put notices in the Detroit papers, nothing statewide or I might have picked it up. Like I said, I was always hoping that we would meet up again some day."

Now I really don't know what to say. Of course, I'm going to give all of this information to Welch to confirm. I have a gut feeling that it is going to pan out. And I want to talk to this Patty.

As if he is reading my mind, Price says, "McBride is going to give us Patty's full name and contact information now that we've met. I want to talk to her myself and if she needs any financial help and arrange for it. I also want to look into the situation for unwed mothers who want to keep their babies in the city and set up a foundation in Ella's name."

"We are very active in the Right to Life movement," adds Melissa. "Now we feel that we have a personal stake. If Ella hadn't felt so strongly about you, hadn't loved you so much, she could have had an abortion, finished her senior year, and went on with her life."

"If she had told me," says Price. "I would never have let her do that. But if you could have known her, you would have never thought that she would anyway. She was innocent and she was too gullible. From what I understand, she really thought that she had enough money to start over in Detroit and raise you alone.

"I have a feeling that this pimp used it against her. She was such a pretty girl. He may have convinced her that he could provide her with employment to become self-sufficient. The next step would have been to get her hooked on crack. I understand that that is how it often happens. I already have people looking for him, if he's even still alive."

"What do you want from me?" I ask him. "Okay, Price, it's time to get to the bottom line."

He looks at me sadly.

"In an ideal world, I would like to embrace you as my son, introduce you to my daughters, and become a part of your life," he replies. "But I learned a long time ago, that there is no such thing as an ideal world. So I will say that I want nothing from you. I simply want you to know that whatever poor Ella turned into, she loved you. And I want you to know that I love you and because of that love, if you want I will walk away and never bother you again. I can see that I have caused you enough pain already."

I can see that there are tears in both Ana and Melissa's eyes. But at this moment, I am engulfed by a thousand feelings that I don't understand. If I had met this man a year ago, I would have told him to go to hell. But now I don't know what to tell him. So I stand up and reach out my hand to Ana. She reluctantly stands up and looks at me with pleading in her eyes. I turn to Price and my cool CEO demeanor kicks in.

"I will think about everything that you have told me and get back to you," I say in a detached manner.

Price understands and nods. He has been in all kinds of negotiations before. He knows that I need time to consider things, consider all the angles, do some research of my own. It's the way that we do business in our world.

"I am sure that you know how to reach me," he replies with dignity and extends his hand.

This time, I grasp it firmly, the way that I do when I close a deal. Melissa and Ana both look confused, but we can explain it to them later. Price understands that I don't do sentimental, but he also knows that I am a man of my word. And I think that he also knows that this is the best that he is going to get from me, at this point in time.

Ana turns and says, "Goodbye. It was nice meeting you."

I give her hand a tug. She is too sweet and naive to really understand what just went down, just like . . . I don't want to think about it.

We walk out of the room to where Taylor is waiting.

"Call Stephan," I say abruptly. "See if the jet is ready. It's time to go home."

Taylor nods and turns away. As he dials his cell phone, Ana looks up at me nervously.

I answer her unasked question.

"I don't know, baby. I just don't know."

For once, she doesn't say anything. She holds me in her arms and as I embrace her, she cuddles against me.


	7. Chapter 6

**Hell Hath No Fury**

**Chapter 6**

**Price**

"Well, that was interesting," I say as soon as the Greys have left the room.

"You always did have a gift for understatement," replies Melissa. "But honestly, how did that just go?"

"Honestly," I respond. "Considering who we just dealt with, not bad, not bad at all."

Melissa frowns.

"How could you tell?" she asks. "That was quite a tantrum he threw."

"Quite," I comment. "But from what I have heard about his behavior with his staff during meetings when things are not going to his liking, that was pretty par for the course. His wife hit the nail on the head. He does not like to lose control."

"No kidding."

"She handles him well," I shrug. "I think that she was amused by your comments."

"I meant what I said about his language," she says darkly.

"That was rather amusing," I say. "I don't that that anyone has ever called him . . . potty mouth, was it? Before. Or threatened to wash it out with soap."

"A toilet mouth," she corrects. "I do believe it lightened the mood. At that point, wife really did look like she was trying to keep from laughing."

"Yes, I am sure that she was," I agree. "Another word on the street is that looks are deceiving with her. She may seem like a little wisp of a thing, but she is not afraid to stand up to him."

"That was obvious," she replies. "And she's pregnant! You're going to be a grandfather!"

"Well, I wouldn't go out and start buying any baby clothes yet," I say. "That boy is a long way from accepting me as his father."

"Yes, I believe that he called you a son of a bitch," she comments.

"I'm sure that he has called me worse than that," I reply. "He has a lot of anger built up inside. I'd say about 28 years worth. I can't say that I blame him either. From all accounts, the first four years of his life were a living hell. The comment that Ella was a crack whore tells us a lot. I hope that he has a good therapist."

"He must," she says. "Or he probably would have internally combusted years ago. Do you think that he'll be in touch again?"

"I'm sure of it," I say. "If only to continue his rant and throw me out of his life altogether. I'm glad that this meeting was held completely under wraps. Neither of us needs the publicity and he needs time to cool off. He is going to have to face up to all of his latent hostility at some point. He is lucky that he has such a strong wife."

"She is very sweet," says Melissa. "I guess that it's true what they say about opposites attracting. It makes me wonder how they met."

"Well, to follow up on his suggestion to her, I'd say that you can Google it," I advise. "In fact, I am sure that you can find everything that you want to know about him on the Internet. No doubt there's a Wikipedia page all about him."

"Just as there is about you," she says. "The similarity between you is amazing."

Now it's my turn to frown.

"Well, our coloring and physique are the same," I say slowly. "But I would say that he looks much more like Ella. He is a very good-looking man. For years he's been considered one of the most eligible bachelors in the country, and not just for his money."

"I agree that he bears a remarkable resemblance to Ella," she states. "Although you're not so bad-looking yourself, you know. No, I was thinking that you are both self-made men, very successful and smart, both billionaires, both athletic . . ."

"Both married to beautiful and loyal wives," I finish with a grin. "I'm glad that you were both here, even if you did have to listen to his potty mouth."

"Toilet mouth," she corrects. "Yes, Anastasia is a woman that I feel I could really become a friend to. From her immediate interest in the girls, I would say that she's very family oriented."

"Well, I'm not exactly sure of what our next step is," I say. "Now that we've met however, I'm going to call McBride and get everything that he knows. I certainly want to contact Patty."

"When do you want to go home?" she asks.

"I'd like to stay here overnight," I reply. "My guess is that Grey left as soon as we finished. But before we face the girls, I want to think some things through. I don't want to tell them yet."

"Neither do I," Melissa grimaces. "You're not the only one who needs to think things through. It's going to take Christian some time to process this through and come to the right decision."

"And that is?"

"To call us back," she replies simply. "I can guarantee that we have not heard the last of Christian Grey."

**Elena**

McBride tells me that the meeting has finally come off! I have no idea of where. All I know is that he picked a location that was completely neutral, which means nothing on the West Coast. However, I have the contact of the media contact already picked out. Once again, I have concealed my identity. She will market the story to a reputable firm and gets to keep the money for herself.

I have told her to try someone at Kavanagh Media first because that is my preference. This will add a sweet layer of complexity to the mix. I toss the pre-paid cell phone out after I call. There is nothing left to do but wait for the proverbial shit to hit the fan.

I have no idea of how things went. However, I can guess. All of my research on Price indicates that he will be extremely decent and discreet about it all. It's Christian who is going to go nuts. I have no doubt that he has been raking McBride over the coals since the meeting. Of course, McBride is another one of those pathologically decent and discreet men. But if he tries to contact me from now on, he'll be out of luck. That pre-paid cell phone is gone too. I wouldn't want to be Welch or Barney when they have to give Christian the bad news.

I have decided that it would be best if I left town for a short vacation. Tomorrow I will be getting on a plane for Tahiti. It's a nice warm, sunny climate and well out of the fray. I have a trusted business manager to run the salons and I haven't had a vacation since they opened, if anyone cares to ask. Things are going well and the weather has been rainier and more unpleasant than usual. It's the perfect time to take a break before the Christmas rush in a couple of weeks.

And this is going to be big enough news that I am sure that it will hit the international press. It's one of those stories that is just too juicy to ignore. Father and son, each building up their own financial empires to the point where they are two of the wealthiest men in the world, finally meet for the first time. And when they put their pictures side by side (as I have) the resemblance is fairly remarkable. Unfortunately, Christian looks more like his mother, but that will be figured out once the journalists start digging and find out more about her.

I know that I have to be very careful about the amount of information that I plant out there. The only bone that I am throwing to the press is that Christian Price and Christian Grey met today (Saturday) as father and son for the first time at an undisclosed location. Beyond that, there are enough legal (and illegal if you know the right people) ways to get information about such things as flight plans and itineraries. And wherever they met, there will certainly be enough low-level, low-paid workers who will only be too happy to take a bribe to confirm.

No, I am just going to pack my suitcase and get ready for my flight. I just wish that I could see Grace's face when the news hits, not to mention Carrick's. This is better than I thought it would be! There are potentially remonstrations on both sides. "Christian, why didn't you tell us?" and "Mom and Dad, didn't you even try to look?"

**Grace**

"Mom! Dad!" screeches Mia, as she comes running down from her room.

It is Sunday morning and while Carrick and I are reading the papers and enjoying our coffee, Mia has been reading the news from Yahoo. As usual, she is more interested in the gossip than the real news. I wonder what has happened with one of her favorite celebrities today.

"Calm down, Mia," says Carrick without looking up. "What ridiculous, invasive journalism has you in a tizzy now?"

"Look! Look!" she shrieks as she brings her laptop over.

On the screen are two pictures one of Christian and the other of another billionaire, Christian Price. Beneath is a headline declaring, "Father and son reunited in Salt Lake City." Carrick bolts out of his seat and to the phone. Mia is nearly in tears and I can feel myself turning pale with shock. What is going on? Where did this story come from? I can hear Carrick on the phone.

"Taylor," he says tensely. "Are Christian and Ana up? Not yet. Good. Check out . . . what website is it, Mia?"

She turns the screen so that he can see it.

"Kavanagh Media . . . What the fuck!" he yells. "Do you have it, the headline story? Taylor please tell me that this is some kind of garbage that someone dreamed up as a bad joke."

There is a moment of silence before Carrick explodes again.

"What do you mean that you can't say? Non-disclosure agreement? Listen, Taylor, I'm a lawyer and I can tell you where to stick that NDA. Answer my question. Did Christian go to Salt Lake City yesterday?"

More silence. Carrick is now beet red and pacing.

"No, I'm not going to calm down, Taylor! Why don't we know anything about this? You don't know? Well, get my son to call me as soon a he gets up."

Carrick listens and then says more calmly, "Yes, please, tell them before they see it on the news. And you better double security. The press is going to have a field day with this."

Carrick slams down the phone and puts his head in his hands. I take a deep breath.

"Carrick," I say as calmly as I can. "Did Christian go to Salt Lake City yesterday?"

"Yes, he and Ana went together," he replies. "But they came back last night. They had a meeting with someone but Taylor didn't feel at liberty to say with whom. He explained that Christian made him sign a non-disclosure agreement when he was hired. As usual, Taylor is being completely loyal."

"Mom and Dad," interrupts Mia timidly. "Read this. It says that Price grew up in Michigan and that Christian was adopted in Detroit. It talks about how Christian's mother died of a crack overdose and then you adopted him. But there was never any father's name on the birth certificate. The writer says that he is still hunting down the story."

"I'm sure that he is," says Carrick grimly. "The next person that I'm calling is our family journalist Katherine Kavanagh to find out what the hell her father's media empire has to do with this. You would think that they would have had the courtesy to run the story by us to see if it was true."

"Do we even know if it is true?" she asks wide-eyed.

"The only fact that we have confirmed is that Christian and Ana flew to Salt Lake City yesterday," answers Carrick, taking on his lawyerly tone. "We do not know if they met Price there or for that matter what they did there. For all we know, they went to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing."

No one does sarcastic quite as well as Carrick, except for Christian of course. His caustic tone is such that neither Mia nor I smile. I can see that he is very frustrated and that until Christian calls us to tell us why he went to Salt Lake yesterday, he is not going to calm down.

"Can this be contained?" I ask. "At least until there is some legitimate confirmation."

"I don't think that Ethan's father would ever print anything that is untrue!" states Mia emphatically.

Carrick stares at her.

"Knowingly," she says more quietly as she backs down.

"Probably not," he sighs. "Unless it is possible to prove that it is blatantly false, the innuendos will continue for months. No doubt journalists will be able to get enough information through the Public Information Act that they can find a connection between Ella and Price, if there is one.

"We never really checked into her background at all. Family Services placed their notices in the local papers and no one responded. We always assumed that she had no family. There was no evidence that she had family other than Christian."

"Does this mean that the Prices can demand for custody?" asks Mia innocently. "If Christian is his son, that is."

For the first time, Carrick cracks a smile and shakes his head.

"Christian is 28 years old," he replies. "There is no issue of custody. I suppose that the only issue is whether or not he wants to become a part of Christian's life. If there has been a meeting, then he may want that."

Mia has been tapping away on her computer. I look over and see that she has found an article on Wikipedia.

"It says here that Christian Price has been married for 15 years to his wife Melissa and that they have three daughters, Sarah, age 14, Emily, age 12, and Katie, age 10," she reads aloud. "He graduated from Stanford University, summa cum laude, in 1987 with a degree in computer science. He completed an MBA in 1989 in the same school. He is a billionaire entrepreneur who made his money in Silicon Valley in the computer industry, but in the last ten years he has been diversifying into other areas. He lives outside of San Jose on a 1000 acre ranch. Whoa! I wonder what his kids think!"

"Christian Price has a reputation as a fine, upstanding man, a real straight-arrow, if you can believe what you hear," added Carrick. "He is very philanthropic and somewhat religious. One of his big causes is the Right to Life movement. He is very anti-abortion. A little ironic, isn't it?"

"Ironic, dear?" I ask, not seeing an irony at all.

"Well, if Ella had had an abortion 28 years ago, Christian wouldn't be here and there wouldn't be all of this fuss," he replies.

"Wow!" says Mia. "I'm lucky that my mother decided not to abort me too, didn't you say that, Mom?"

"For that matter, all three of you are lucky that your mothers didn't choose to abort," I reply thoughtfully. "None of your mothers were married."

"So if this is Christian's father than he's really not such a bad guy, is he?" she asks.

"I don't know," I say, feeling uncomfortable.

Is he a bad guy just for wanting to find his biological son after all these years? How would we feel if we had a child out there for all those years and never knew him? I wonder if he even knew that Ella was pregnant. There are so many unanswered questions. Who went looking for whom? Did Christian suddenly have a desire to find his father? Although I can't see why he would, since he has always hated him.

"Well, he's certainly not a fortune hunter," comments Carrick. "Just like Christian, he has more money than he can spend in several lifetimes."

Mia opens her mouth as if to say something and then wisely closes it. I am sure that we are all thinking that Christian and his father are not really that different. Deep down, I have a feeling that this is his father. Although who knows what it will do to Christian's mental state. All these years he has referred to his father as a "fucking sperm donor," based on the assumption that he was some kind of pimp, drug addict, or John.

It has given him another target at which to vent his anger. I know that Ana has been trying to help him get past his feelings of helplessness and anger at his birth mother. She even thought that she was succeeding. This may be a setback to his progress. And I am now beginning to worry about Ana. She has been through enough stress for one pregnancy already. She doesn't need to be dealing with my son and his volatile temper right now.

Suddenly, the phone rings and Carrick barks into it, "Yes?"

"NO COMMENT!"

Then he turns to Mia and me and says, "And so it begins."

**Christian**

Ana lies beside me, sleeping comfortably. She is completely exhausted after our round trip to Salt Lake yesterday. I hate to admit it, but my temper tantrums didn't help. And after our meeting with Price, there was no controlling myself. As usual, she just sat quietly throughout the whole flight and listened to my rants. Initially, she tried to sooth me, but she finally gave up. God, she looks so beautiful when she sleeps. I could watch her forever.

Looking at the clock, I can see that it is past nine. I get out of bed, careful not to wake her. When I go out into the great room, I can see that Taylor is waiting for me and he doesn't look happy.

"Sir," he says a bit nervously. "I am afraid that we have a situation that has arisen."

"Situation?"

"Well, Mr. Grey," he continues. "It appears that the press has gotten wind of your meeting yesterday in Salt Lake with Mr. Price."

"Holy shit, Taylor!" I roar. "How the hell did that happen?"

"We obviously don't know, sir," he says, flinching a little. "I have taken the liberty of contacting Mr. Welch to see what he can dig up. I have sent Sawyer down to check on the situation outside of the building. Sir, I don't think that you'll want to be going anywhere today."

"Christian, what's wrong?"

I turn and see that Anastasia is standing in the doorway looking very pale. No doubt my outburst just woke her up. Great! Now she's going to be all upset. I make every effort to calm myself and walk over and put my arms around her.

"It's alright, honey," I say, as I put my arms around her and kiss her head. "Taylor has everything under control. There's nothing for you to worry about."

She looks unconvinced. I realize that as usual, I am going to have to tell her something or, as Flynn is always telling me, it will make her worry more. I lead her over to the sofa and as I sit down, settle her under my arm.

"Apparently, the press has found out about our little trip yesterday," I say with a calmness that I don't feel. "Taylor has been double checking our security here and Welch is trying find out where the leak originated. We'll be fine as long as we stay inside."

Ana listens carefully and then cuddles under my arm.

"I don't think that the Prices had anything to do with it," she comments.

"And why is that?" I ask.

"I don't see what they have to gain by it," she replies logically. "They certainly don't need any money. I don't think that they want the publicity anymore than we do. And it seemed to me as though they were trying to reach out to you. Destroying your trust in them would hardly achieve that goal."

"You're right," I agree. "I actually had not even considered them as suspects. Press leaks are hardly the kind of things that win friends and influence people. And I'm sure hat their security people are as well-versed in precautions and as loyal as ours are."

"How could this have happened?" she asks, looking also towards Taylor.

He shrugs.

"There were plenty of people involved from hotel staff to airport personnel who could have put two and two together," he replies. "It can't possibly have gone unnoticed that the private jets of two of the wealthiest men in America flew in yesterday at the same time."

"McBride?" I ask.

Taylor shakes his head.

"Only if he wants to ruin his own business," he says. "As you know, we've done a complete check on him. He deals in very discreet matters for very well-paying clients. A screw up like this could put him out of business in a heartbeat."

Taylor's cell phone buzzes.

"Welch?" he says.

"Really?" he asks, raising his eyebrows. "I will pass that information along right away. Yes, keep digging."

"What did he learn?" I ask.

"Yesterday, an anonymous tip came into one of the local affiliates of the Kavanagh Media group," he says. "They did a quick check and posted on the Internet right away. But now everyone and his uncle is out there looking for a story. It was very smart that we left Salt Lake immediately."

I look at Ana, who has turned white.

"Kavanagh Media?" I ask softly.

"I'm sure that Kate had nothing to do with this," she whispers. "I didn't say a word to her or anyone else."

Anyone else? Shit! What are my parents going to think when they hear this? I'm sure that Dad will understand, but Mother is a whole other story. And there's no way that they are going to miss it. They might not be interested in celebrity gossip, but Mia sure as hell is. I still don't get this Kavanagh Media connection or the business of them checking out the story.

Pissed off as I perpetually am at Kate, I have no doubts about Anastasia's loyalty. In fact, she has been very good at dodging her intrusive questions in the past. No, I am more angry that a story like this comes in about a future family member and no one even thinks to call my press people. As if on cue, my cell rings.

"Sam?" I say as I note the caller ID. "Tell them, no comment."

"Good," I reply and hang up. He was just calling to confirm the no comment response. What the hell else did he think that he should say? Oh well, considering the number of times I've held his ass over the fire, I'm sure that he wanted to check with me first. Taylor clears his throat.

"Mr. Grey," he says. "Your father called earlier to alert me regarding the news. He has asked that you call once you get up."

"Oh, shit!" The words are out of my mouth before I can think. "The last thing that I need is one of his interrogations. I hope that you didn't say anything, Taylor."

"Sir," he says formally. "When I told your father about the NDA, he was most unimpressed. However, all that I could tell him was that you did indeed go to Salt Lake City yesterday. I know nothing else."

I glower at him.

"He could have easily found out by checking on your flight plans," he continues, looking pained.

"Christian, please don't be mad at Taylor," adds Ana. "I'm sure that your father put him in a very difficult position."

I sigh. Of course, he did. That's how Dad is, and he especially doesn't like it when he can't find out whatever he wants. And how can I be mad at Taylor? He's proven over and over again how loyal he is. Taylor's cell phone buzzes.

"Sawyer?" he says as he picks up. "Yes, just as I expected. Good. As long as they are outside the building we can't do anything."

"The press?" I ask bleakly.

"All over," replies Taylor. "But they can't get in. I'm going to keep Sawyer and Ryan down there. I don't think that any of them will recognize Mrs. Jones. I would like to get her back here as soon as possible. Once they know who she is, I have no doubt that they'll be all over her."

"No doubt," I muse. "They wouldn't get anything out of her anyway, but I would hate to see her harassed on our account."

"I should make us some breakfast," says Ana, standing up.

"Are you sure that you're okay to do that?" I ask.

"I need to do something," she replies. "I don't want to sit around. Besides, I'm starving."

I smile at her warmly and lay my hand on her expanding belly.

"Blip hungry too?" I ask playfully.

"Blip is always hungry," she responds lightly. "I think that he's going to be a big boy, just like his Daddy."

I watch as she walks over to the kitchen area. So, Dad wants me to call. Well, right now, I'm not up for his usual interrogation. Maybe I'll give him a call after I've eaten. I can hear Taylor's voice from his office. It's time for us to make some plans for the next few days. This firestorm is not going away. While I don't want Ana out of the apartment, I am not going to let these vultures and jackals limit my ability to function in the outside world. When I find this leak, he's going to be lucky if all I do is plug him up.


	8. Chapter 7

**Hell Hath No Fury**

**Chapter 7**

**Price**

Coming home has been a nightmare, not the travel part however. But I don't think that Melissa will give me any more grief about the helicopter pad that I installed at the ranch. It was not only convenient, but it was essential to our getting out of the airport ahead of the press. We never had to leave the Tarmac. No, the nightmare has been facing down the barrage of questions from the girls. They really don't seem to get it.

Luckily, Melissa's mother was here to try and cope with them in the beginning. Of course, she knew nothing except what came out on the news. Sarah was the first to hear of it when one of her school friends called. She told the others and then they looked up things on the Internet for themselves. Unfortunately, the girls are so young that they have not been able to properly sort through the reliable versus the unreliable websites. There have been some gossip sites which have written up some utterly scandalous things.

My legal team has already been trying to sift through the mess. My first question was, where did this media blitz start? They can tell that the story started with an anonymous tip to one of the peripheral news outlets belonging to the Kavanagh media group. Apparently, the story hit before anyone had really verified it or run it through the powers that be. Ironically, Kavanagh's daughter is engaged to Christian's older brother.

The girls were most upset by the _National Enquirer _story which accused me of abandoning my love child and his mother in the slums of Detroit. It was right below a story about a recent Elvis sighting, but as I said to Melissa, the girls are too young to be more selective in their news sources. The worst part have been the phone calls from the local news outlets and some intrusive reporters and photographers outside the gates of the ranch.

Our security people have been on the ball, but Melissa is worried about sending the girls to school tomorrow. Luckily, they go to a private, all-girls school which has a very exclusive clientele. I have already been on the phone with the headmistress, who assures me that all precautions will be taken to protect the girls' privacy. It is still a Catholic school, but no longer a convent school. Once again, we are in luck. The perimeter of the convent's property is surrounded by a large stone wall. With the added security guards that I am providing, they should be set without feeling suffocated.

Explaining how all of this happened, has been very uncomfortable for me. Needless to say, we have always preached abstinence until marriage. The fact that the story has broken that I obviously did not follow that rule myself is creating some backlash and accusations of hypocrisy. But Melissa and I decided that there was no point in lying to the girls. We both would have preferred to tell the girls in our own way, but circumstances changed all that.

I am lucky that my in-laws have taken the news so well. They are glad that Melissa knew of the relationship, although not its final outcome (which I hadn't known myself at the time), before we were married. They are good and kind people and have a very sympathetic view of Ella and Christian. So do the girls.

It is truly a tragic story of great proportions. I have done my best to rehabilitate the "crack whore" image that is being perpetrated by the press to give the story a more salacious edge. One blogger has even suggested that Ella was a prostitute when I met her who tried to "ensnare" me into marriage. The accusation, of course, is ludicrous. At the time I was a high school senior looking for a sports scholarship to pay for college, not exactly "sugar daddy" material.

It has taken all of my self-control not to call one of the news outlets myself and give it the accurate story, but Melissa has told me that there is plenty of time for that. I am letting my PR people handle it, so all inquiries receive a big "no comment." From what I can tell, Christian is giving the same response up in Seattle. I am thinking that we may both benefit from a coordinated response, but there are still unanswered questions and emotional issues to work through.

I have tried to call him, but could only get as far as his man Taylor. He told me that Christian is livid about the leak and determined to track it down. He also told me that my son has fully accepted the story as valid and now has his people trying to track down all information possible back in Michigan. I don't blame him. I know that I would probably do the same thing too.

I am hoping that between both sets of investigators, we can come up with some answers regarding this. I have contacted McBride and he swears that he knows nothing about it. I believe him. I am also determined to track down this anonymous benefactor. My gut instinct is that he or she is behind the leak. Since we know that the benefactor set out to find me, it means that it must be someone related to Christian.

Two things have come to light that were found by my own investigators. The first is a rather shocking news story about a man who kidnapped Christian's sister and nearly killed his wife a couple of months ago. He apparently was angry when Ana spurned his advances and then later was fired. All of that was extensively covered in the Seattle news.

My people have also discovered that one of Christian's former girlfriends is presently under psychiatric care in Connecticut for stalking and attempting to shoot poor Ana. She had a psychotic break and was planning on committing suicide. Christian is also funding her education at an art school. Somehow this story managed to stay out of the news. However, I am concerned about that. She may have somehow come across his birth story and tried to do something with it, to perhaps get his attention again. From what my people have dug up she seems like an obsessive personality.

In both cases in fact, these two individuals had unnatural fixations on Christian. Both seemed to have tried using Anastasia to get to him. either of them may have tried this approach, however, I doubt that either had the resources or the opportunity to hire McBride. Whoever is behind that, definitely had an axe to grind and also the finances to spare no expense. Unfortunately, the way that Christian has chosen to do business sometimes has made him some enemies. Given recent circumstances, I have a much better understanding of why he is so paranoid about security.

Melissa, despite have been blindsided by all of these revelations in the last twenty-four hours, refuses to back down from her support of me. She knows very well that I asked for none of this. She is also convinced that there is some very evil and manipulative character working in the background to achieve some sort of hidden agenda. She is insisting that our top security people turn Christian's life upside-down to find out who that might be. I am reluctant to take any action of this kind because of the implication that I don't trust my son to tell me the whole truth on his own.

"Chris, we don't have time for that," she insists. "Developing a relationship like that may take months, if not years with that man. He is very closed up and doesn't trust anyone. I know that someone has invaded his privacy, but that person has invaded our privacy also. And don't be so naive as to think that his investigators aren't tearing our lives apart right now trying to get to the bottom of this."

"I guess you could be right," I admit.

"Chris," she says emphatically. "You can't go soft on this. You haven't had any more time to process this than he has. I know that you have been feeling a tremendous amount of guilt about what happened to both him and Ella. It would be hard enough to deal with this privately, but the press has thrown our whole family's personal tragedy right out there in the public arena. This is better than any of those ridiculous reality shows. The fact that it involves too billionaires with semi-public lives already makes it an even bigger circus."

"Yes, I know," I reply.

"And, Chris, any hope that you had to discreetly get together with your son and build a relationship has just gone out the window," she adds. "The two of you won't be able to do anything without being hounded by the press. And that's only if he's willing to meet with you again."

"You're right of course," I sigh. "I guess that it's too much to hope that this will all blow over."

She looks at me as if I am crazy.

"One more thing," she says more softly. "And then I will let this drop. We have had a hard enough time trying to explain all this to the girls. He has to try and talk this through with his family. I'm sure that never in their wildest imaginations did they ever think that Christian's father would come to light after all these years. They are going need time to get used to the idea too."

"You're right of course," I reply. "Things are really very different for us. Once the girls got over the shock of finding out and the disappointment that we didn't tell them, I know that they were all over the Internet looking up information about him. They all think that he looks like some kind of a male model or something. And your parents have been terrific."

"Mom and Dad were only concerned because they were afraid that this was some deep, dark secret from your past that I didn't know about," she says. "They were glad to know that there were no secrets before we were married. And I, well, I can't be jealous of a ghost."

"You have never had anything to be jealous of," I say. "And neither do the girls. Emily said something about how I always wanted a son, and I told her that I wouldn't trade the three of them for any son."

"I'm sorry that I never did give you a son," replies Melissa regretfully.

"My dear," I answer. "There is still time. I'm not ready to give up yet."

"Neither am I," she smiles and puts her arms around my neck.

The only thing that I feel guilty about is all of the pain that this is causing her. For the next few weeks, I can see that simple, daily logistics like going to school, to work, and just out to the store are going to be a nightmare. Whoever instigated this mess had better stay out of my way or he or she will be very sorry.

**Grace**

I cannot believe that the press has actually decided to camp outside of our property looking for a story about our son's adoption. We have always been very forthcoming with the details about his adoption such as we knew them. And we have always been very public about our personal investment in Coping Together.

There have also been insinuations that we didn't look hard enough to find Christian's family. Nothing will change the fact that when Ella died there was no family. In fact, we paid for her internment in a private plot rather than having her sent to a local potter's field. And it's public record that there is no father's name on the birth certificate.

It is very easy for all these journalists and private investigators to retrace the trail that led back to Traverse City. But they can do that because they know where they are going. One of the outlets managed to get their hands on a copy of her high school yearbook and has been showing her senior picture all over the television and Internet. She looks very sweet and lovely, and so very young. Her resemblance to Christian in that picture is even more striking than the one black and white photo that we've had for years.

I want desperately to see my son, but short of flying over to Escala in the helicopter, there is no way to get in and out of either our house or his apartment without running into the press or the paparazzi. Out of all of us, Elliot is the luckiest because he was at Kate's when the story broke. So far, no one ha made any connection between Kate and the reporter who broke the story. They are also not on their radar yet. Mia is not really either and except for the fact that she lives at home, she probably wouldn't be bothered.

Carrick has already forbidden her to speak with anyone anywhere about the situation. He is afraid of her impulsive tongue and what she might say if one of the reporters pushed her buttons. Christian, just like Carrick, is holding with his "no comment" response to all questions, as are the Prices down in California. Like Christian, they have a large security and PR staff who are handling everything right now.

Carrick spoke with Christian earlier and he told him that Welch and Barney were leaving no stone unturned when looking for the leak. Apparently, Price has spoken to Taylor and they are doing the same thing on their end. They have wisely chosen to keep the investigations separate on the off-chance that one group might catch something that the other misses. They all seem to be pretty sure that it was an employee or the hotel, as it was impossible to vet everyone who came in contact with them.

Now that we have had time to think it through, Carrick and I have a better understanding of why Christian mentioned nothing of this before going to Salt Lake. Although he had investigated McBride, the private investigator who located his father before the meeting, he still was not sure if his "father" was some kind of crack pot and that the whole thing wasn't some kind of a set up.

He knew that the idea that his biological father had been found could be upsetting to us, so Ana had convinced him not to say anything until they were sure that this man was his father. And given the chance, he would certainly have told us sooner rather than later.

It is disturbing to think that Christian's father has been out there for all of the these years, a very kind and decent man, and yet neither suspected that they were related. Naturally, Christian has never had any desire to look for his father. He had always assumed the he was a drug addict or some other kind of low life that his mother had been mixed up with. But that is another piece still missing from the puzzle. Who set about looking for him in the first place?

McBride claims that it was an "anonymous benefactor" and that since he signed an NDA, he is not at liberty to disclose any information about him. Christian is apparently gritting his teeth about this because _he _makes almost everyone who comes in contact with him sign an NDA. However, Barney has been going through McBride's phone records and has not come up with much, although a number of calls have been made to various pre-paid cells. Someone is clearly attempting to cover his tracks.

Another point of conflict is the connection of the story to Kavanagh Media. Kate's father has assured us that the reporter who got the tip and broke the story was very far down the "food chain," so to speak. However, he and his boss have been fired, since they needed to have run a story of such huge proportions through upper levels of management, not to mention the legal team, before just putting it out there on the Internet.

This has been deeply embarrassing for Kavanagh since he is almost family. Carrick has really taken him to task for not maintaining better control over his staff. Christian never liked Kate to begin with, so I know that this will create a larger rift. He is always looking for ways of keeping her out of Ana's life. He initially wanted to sue, but there was no libel involved, only the disclosure of personal details that he would have preferred to keep out of the press.

I suppose that one thing that concerns me is that this press tsunami that we have been going through is obscuring the real issue for Christian. Because he is so determined to get to the bottom of the press leak and who is behind it, he is ignoring the aspect of the situation,which is about the fact that he has met his biological father.

Merely comparing notes regarding the investigations is not exactly any kind of a basis for dealing with this personal shock. Although, it does make a nice avoidance tactic. I suspect that that is how Carrick is using it also. He promised Carrick that he would see Flynn tomorrow and I am sure that Ana will insist that he does.

How will Christian feel when all of the hoopla dies down and he has to face up to the fact that his biological parents were not the evil beings of his imaginings? Rather, they were more like the biological parents of many other adoptees, including Mia, a pair of reckless teenagers who didn't pay attention to the basic facts of life.

His mother made some very poor choices, but it wasn't from lack of love. She was young and immature and didn't trust those around her to help. His father simply knew nothing, although it is very easy for him, with 20/20 hindsight, to claim that he would have done everything to help her out.

While I know that I don't really want to meet him, I know that I should. It will be very uncomfortable. I suppose that it is the greatest fear of every adoptive parent that some day the birth parents will walk through the door to challenge her claim. Of course, Carrick was right when he told Mia that the idea of challenging custody is absurd in the case of a 28-year-old man, but I wonder if our relationship will be altered.

I am looking forward to returning to the hospital tomorrow so that I can focus on my patients once more. It is at times like this that work can really be my salvation. And Carrick believes that the interest in us will die down more quickly than that in Christian and Price. He hopes that no more information comes to light that either of the investigative teams has come across first.

**Christian**

If yesterday's revelations weren't bad enough, this press onslaught is an absolute nightmare. The stress of it is taking its toll on Ana and I am very grateful that Gail has come back early to take over the cooking and household chores. And as usual, she is fussing over her to make sure that she eats and rests. Normally, I would consider those, my jobs, but I am determined to get to the bottom of this mess.

This press leak is, as far as I am concerned, criminal. I have spoken with my father, Carrick, however, and he says that while it is invasive and intrusive, it is not a crime to investigate and publish factual information. I am not up for any kind of conversation with Price, however he has been very cooperative about allowing Taylor to communicate on my behalf. And Price is not trying to intrude. He simply wanted to inform me that he has investigators working on the angle of who hired McBride.

Ana has been quick to name both Elena and Leila as possible suspects. hHowever, I have no intention of putting him on either of those trails. As far as I am concerned, there is too much risk on either side for him to uncover them. I certainly want Elena kept out of it. I do not want to give Linc any excuses for crawling out of the woodwork to add in his two cents to the story. I have put him in a position where he had nothing, literally, left to lose. In fact, if I didn't know for a fact that he does not have he financial resources to hire McBride, I might suspect that he had a desire to screw up my life.

And since I have handed over the salons to Elena, she hasn't had the biggest cash flow to dip into for that kind of money. Besides, Welch checked her out and she left for Tahiti yesterday. Any discretionary cash she had on hand went for that. Her phone records indicate no unusual activity, nor do her personal bank records. Besides, she has more of a bone to pick with Ana than me. It is a real stretch to say that this situation has had a profound impact on her, other than the fact that she can't leave the apartment.

I am insisting that she work from home again, as much for her health as anything else. My suspicion is that the press will follow me over to Grey House, so I can have Sawyer go over to Grey Publishing and pick up her assistant to help facilitate with some of her duties. Needless to say, Flynn will be coming over as well. As far as I know, the press have no idea of who he is.

He will be checking in with Leila's parents and therapist about her. While I can't imagine that she had the money to instigate this mess, she did have a motive. She seems unable to stay away from me. When she was stalking us before, she was both resourceful and tenacious about gaining information and access. She is also very manipulative. That little scene that she played out back in September at SIP was a further demonstration to me that her obsessive tendencies were not entirely under control.

All of the activity is helping to distract me from what I am feeling. I can't help but think that I would have been better off to have discovered that my father was another crack head like my mother. It would have been so easy to just dismiss a piece of crap like that from my life. But knowing that my father is Price changes everything.

He loved my mother enough to want to confront me with the reality of who she was before she ran away. I can no longer think that my wicked tendencies were part of some genetic flaw. It's the old nature versus nurture thing. And Ana is always quick to point out that I essentially was not nurtured for the first our years of my life. However, I am beginning to think that I was the one who ruined my mother's life.

If she hadn't become pregnant with me, where might she be today? Would she be some kind of famous artist or musician? She had her whole life ahead of her and she threw it away because she was too ashamed to go to her father and thought that she had lost her boyfriend. And even after she discovered how difficult it was to make it on her own, she still refused to give me up for adoption.

Now I find out that her pimp was using _me _as leverage to keep her in line. I might not have believed it, but those words "fucked up bitch" and "little shit" are seared into my memory. I am sure that the woman Patty didn't just pull them out of a hat. No, it is just more proof that I screwed up my mother's life.

Looking at those yearbooks really hurt. She was beautiful and talented. But she didn't have any self-confidence. It really makes me think of Ana. It has taken me so long to convince her what a wonderful girl she is. Flynn has also expressed his concern that she doesn't recognize her own self-worth. Before we married she was afraid that I wouldn't have loved her if I weren't so broken. I guess I could think the same of her.

Now that I hear that the crazy news stories are tearing my mother to shreds it just makes me so angry. I guess that I want to protect her the way I couldn't when I was a child. That's another thing that Ana has told me, that I felt like I failed because I couldn't save her. But that wasn't my job.

Taylor tells me that Price is dying to go public to set the record straight, but his people tell him that the timing is all wrong. I guess it is. I normally ignore all the bullshit that they publish in the tabloids and I think that he does too. But this is different. This is personal. And whoever set this whole mess in motion? Well, he better watch out, because I will find him and take care of him once and for all.

**Elena**

Ah! Tahiti is just as wonderful as I always thought that it would be! And this vacation is even sweeter because all of the hoi polloi at my hotel can talk of nothing but the Christian Grey/Christian Price scandal back in the states. It would seem that everyone's name is being dragged through the mud! Perfect. I may not have a front row seat, but I shall enjoy the fruits of my machinations from afar. This is all just too good to be true.


	9. Chapter 8

**Hell Hath No Fury**

**Chapter 8**

**Christian**

It's been almost two weeks since the press got wind of the big meeting between billionaire Christian Grey and his billionaire biological father. Fortunately, the story lost traction pretty quickly after it broke. There wasn't too much else to tell once the initial facts were out and clarified. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that both of us are obscenely wealthy, it wouldn't have rated a footnote in Wikipedia.

Price's life has already been well-documented by all the media. He grew up in Traverse City, got a scholarship to Stanford, started making his billions, married a nice girl, and they lived happily ever after until someone decided to go looking for _my _father. We've had a couple of meetings since, once again with the wives on hand. However, we did have one "man-to-man" encounter.

I've sliced and diced the whole thing with Flynn. He thinks that Ana and Melissa are good to keep around because they keep it real. I kind of like Melissa. She reminds me of Ana in that she doesn't take any of my crap. The only annoying thing about her is that I have to watch my mouth. There are more expletives in my repertoire that the "f- bomb" as she calls it, and she doesn't approve of any of them. She has also been really cool about the fact that her husband, "Chris," as she calls him, has suddenly found out that he has a long lost son.

And he hasn't tried to get me to call him Dad or anything like that. He did ask me to call him Chris as opposed Price. He says that calling him by his surname makes him sound like a business acquaintance or something. I surprised that I don't mind. After all, Ana calls her stepfather Ray half the time. He also hasn't tried to become all "buddy buddy" with me. I like that. If he had tried to act all sentimental, it would have pissed me off.

Flynn of course is going on about his Solution Focused Bullshit. He keeps asking where I want my relationship going with Chris and Melissa and he thinks that I should meet my little sisters. So far he has been unwilling to accept my answer that I don't want a relationship with him. I still view him as a sperm donor, he's just not a sleazy, scum bag sperm donor.

As for my "sisters," I think that Ana is the one that wants to meet them. I find her interest tolerable because it's probably because of the baby. I've noticed that whenever we go out and she sees kids, especially little kids, she starts to get all emotional and teary-eyed. Guess that it's part of all those pregnancy hormones, at least that's what I've read.

When Ana complained to Melissa about all of my reading, she told her that Chris did the same thing when she was pregnant the first time. Then they exchanged their "like father, like son" look. She and Melissa would be real tight, but she knows that that would really piss me off.

Luckily, Ana is going along with what I want. I was afraid at first that she would start going on about Chris the way she does about my mother. Yeah, now I know that Ella was really a sweet kid who got caught up in a hellish existence. But she didn't have to drag me down into it, no matter how much she loved my father.

Chris has really gone all out to find out what her life was like. He talked to this Patty, who apparently really tried to help her. He has even set her up with a pension for when she retires. The woman has been working for this Christian organization for over thirty years with little pay and nothing to look forward to except trying to live on social security. When she heard that, Ana gave _me _that "like father, like son" look. Okay. We both have money and like to take care of the people who have helped us out in the past.

He has also started a foundation in Detroit to assist unwed mothers keep their kids if they want them. It's kind of like my parents' organization, Coping Together. He made a big donation to them as well. He is working with Detroit social services to open the Ella Gracy Home for single mothers. He has looked into the finances of the city and thinks that it is going to go bust in a couple of years. Social services are usually the first things on the chopping block.

He has also requested that my mother's remains be moved to Traverse City where her Mom is buried. Since I am the next of kin, it required my approval. I thought that my mother probably wouldn't have cared less, but if it makes Chris feel better, what the hell? The only thing that I really wished that he had left alone was that he wanted to know what my life was like with my mother before she kicked off.

I had a huge argument with Flynn about that. It wasn't just that I didn't want to go there myself, I couldn't see why the guy wanted to put himself through the hell of listening to that story. Then, Flynn had to go and mention it to Ana. Now of course, she told me that it was my decision, but she said it in that way that she has when she really wants me to do something that I don't want to do. Then I had a nightmare and I realized that I needed to get it out.

Ana and Melissa were both there for moral support. I think that it was just as hard for Chris to hear as it was for me to tell it.

"Christian," he said. "Just so you know, I read the full medical report of your condition and treatment when you were brought into the emergency room."

"So then why are we here?" I asked, trying to keep the edge out of m voice.

"I need to know it all," he said. "I need the first-hand account."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "I hope that you both have strong stomachs."

"Don't worry about us," replied Melissa. "It's important that we understand you and, to a lesser degree, Ella."

It always sounds so weird when they talk about her. They have such a different picture of her than I do. It's like they don't get that she was a fucked up bitch. I guess that they will never accept the way she turned out unless they know. Ana squeezes my hand. She's heard all of this before. I suppose that if she can take it, they can too.

"Well, as you know, I was only four when she passed away," I said. "And I don't have a lot of memories, you know, it's more like flashbacks. That's what Flynn says anyway."

Melissa nods. They know all about Flynn. I wasn't going to tell them but she was real concerned that I was getting help from a good shrink. I guess that she and Chris have been going to one too.

"Most of the memories," I continued. "Were of pain. Her pimp used to come in and kick me with his steel-toed boots. He always looked for me to mess with me, even though I tried to hide. He beat up my mother too, even worse than me. I was mad at her though, because she never tried to protect me. He called me the little shit. My mother was the fucked up bitch. I guess that's where I got my toilet mouth from."

The remark was aimed at Melissa, but she didn't even crack a smile. I figure that she didn't get that kind of sense of humor. Chris flinched, but didn't comment.

"The only other very strong memory is the four day time period between when my mother died and when they found us," I explained. "I remember how cold she was, how she wouldn't move. I covered her with my blanket. I was hungry and ate a few things from the freezer, drank some water from the sink. Then the pimp found us. He kicked me real hard and locked us in. He must have called the police because they came.

"They had to bust down the door. I didn't want to leave my mother. I didn't want to be touched. The policewoman picked me up and they drove me to the ER. That was where I met my Mom, Grace, and she took care of me. The rest is history. You've read all about it."

Chris and Melissa had tears in their eyes, but I was ready for that. I am now at the point where I can tell the story pretty dispassionately. It feels like it happened to someone else. Then I noticed Ana was staring at me.

"You missed something, Christian," she said softly.

"They've read the medical reports," I replied sharply. "They know."

"You need to tell them," she insisted.

So what could I do? More pain for all four of us, but Ana was not going to let go of it.

"I remember that her pimp was a heavy smoker and drinker," I said reluctantly. "His preference was Camels. Sometimes he used me as his ashtray . . ."

That's all, I could say no more. Melissa blanched.

"The burns . . ." she whispered.

Chris put his head in his hands. Ana gently stroked my arm. All I could do is nod. The was silence in the room for a long time. Then Chris finally spoke.

"If that son of a bitch wasn't already dead, I would kill him myself," he said tersely.

"He's dead?" gasped Ana.

"I had my man track him down," he said. "He was shot when a drug deal went bad a couple of years ago. I was glad that he was already dead. Now I think that he got off easy."

"Chris!" exclaimed Melissa.

I looked at Chris in a different way after that. It was just the kind of thing that Carrick would say. I don't know he would even think that, being all Mr. Right to Life and all that shit. I think that it might have been the emotions of the moment, the idea that my mother and I were so abused by this guy. I think that it was the first time that I really understood that this man, Chris, actually loved my mother and viewed me as a son.

A few days later, we met for our man-to-man talk.

"Christian," he said. "I know it all."

"What the fuck do you mean by that?" I asked in outrage. Without Melissa's tempering influence, I felt no need to censor my language.

"Well, to start with," he said. "I know about Leila. My investigators are pretty darn good, even if I do say so myself. I know all of the money you've been paying for her treatment and her art school. I've had her thoroughly researched and I know all about her lifestyle and the nature of her relationship with you. She wasn't just a girlfriend, was she? She was a submissive in a BDSM relationship?"

I ran my hands through my hair. Shit! If he found this out, who else could?

"Christian," he went on. "I am not going to judge your previous lifestyle. Considering our relationship to one another, I am hardly in a position to judge you. I also have no intention of revealing this information to anyone. Melissa does not know and she will never hear it from me."

"Well thank fuck for that!" I said.

"However," he continued. "I want you to know that I think that this woman is still dangerous to you. My investigator, who is a woman by the way, asked her parents to check up on her. It turns out that one of the walls in her bedroom is plastered with pictures and newspaper articles about you, pretty much going all the way back to your wedding. When they checked the browser history on the home computer, she has spent a lot of time finding everything that she possibly can about you and Ana."

My mouth dropped open.

"When did she discover this?" I asked.

"Two days ago," he replied. "I told her to give the information to her therapist in New Haven. The therapist said that he would check it out."

"As soon as you leave, I'm contacting Flynn," I said. "And Welch. As much as I don't like you prying into my life, I am grateful that you did. Flynn has always suspected that she's made too quick a recovery from her psychotic break last summer. She has always been a scheming and manipulative little bitch."

"And she has a very unhealthy fixation on you," he replied. "You're going to need to step up Ana's security. She's probably more of a threat to her than you. And she does know that Ana is pregnant. There were pictures of you two recently."

Now it was my turn to put my head in my hands. The possible loss of Anastasia and now the baby is still my worst nightmare. Leila's the one that needs to be locked up. She came back here once before. In fact, she arrived at Ana's office before we even knew she was in town. I looked up at Chris.

"I don't know what to say," I said feebly.

"Christian," he replied gently. "I know that you will always regard Carrick as your real father, and me as someone else. He is the one who earned that title, not me. I just want you to know that I love you and Ana and I will go to any extent necessary to protect you both. Right now, I have Leila under surveillance in Connecticut. She isn't going anywhere if I can help it. That said, she is much smarter than she lets on."

"Ana thinks that she may be the so-called anonymous benefactor," I commented.

"We are looking into that," he answered. "My gut instinct is no. She doesn't seem to have too much interest in your adoption, although she has lots of the stories and pictures published. She was much more interested in the wedding."

"But you're still keeping an eye on her?" I asked.

"Christian, I do business like you do," he replied. "I always hedge my bets. Until we find this benefactor, she'll be on my radar. But tell me. Have you made any progress?"

"Not much," I hated to admit. "I'm still on McBride's case, but whoever it was covered his or her tracks well. I had one thought, but it didn't pan out."

"Oh, can you tell me who it was?" he asked.

Oh shit, I might as well tell him.

"The husband of an old friend who had a grudge against me," I said. "Linc provided the bail money that got Jack Hyde out of jail so that he could come after Ana. Hyde nearly killed her and the baby."

"What was the grudge?" he asked.

"It had to do with his ex-wife, Elena Lincoln," I answered. "It was a personal dispute, not business."

"Those are the worst kind," he said ruefully.

"Tell me about it."

**Grace**

Now that the dust has settled from the big revelation about Christian's father, I have had the opportunity to meet him and his wife. They are both lovely people. Naturally, I had already done a little research for myself. Just because you know about Christian Price, doesn't necessarily mean that you know all about him. I was anxious to get beyond the superficial, tabloid trash.

Carrick has refused to meet with them at all. I can't say that I blame him. He and Christian have always had a contentious relationship. But a lot of that was normal father and son stuff. No father is going to jump up and down for joy if he hears that his son is getting kicked out of schools, dropping out of Harvard, or had an affair with a married woman old enough to be his mother. However, it has hardly been as though Christian has been falling all over his biological father. Half the time, he wants him to just go away.

It is almost more difficult because they are such wonderful people. When I met them, their response was beyond gracious. First of all, we all insisted that we address each other on a first name basis. It makes it somewhat easier, because he always goes by Chris among friends and family.

"Grace," he began. "I can't tell you how grateful I am that you were the doctor on duty when he was brought in. I can't imagine what a shocking state he was in, even though I read the medical reports and you were very thorough."

"How did you get your hands on those?" I asked in concern.

"I'm sure that you are aware that people like myself and Christian for that matter," he explained a little shamefacedly. "Have no trouble accessing any kind of information that we want. But you must realize that I would never abuse my access to those records."

"No," I said. "I don't imagine that you would."

"I am also glad that you took such a personal interest in him," he continued. "To the point of adopting him."

"Yes, well," I answered. "I know that we didn't do a very thorough search for Ella's family or a potential father. We allowed the state to take care of it. I understand that you were in Traverse City at the time and might have seen a notice if it had been publicized there."

Chris looked down and Melissa leaned forward.

"Grace, we have discussed that very issue at length," she explained. "At the time, Chris was only twenty-two and visiting his father between the end of his undergraduate and the beginning of his graduate program on the West Coast. Even if he had known about Christian and took custody, he could not have provided the kind of home and special care that you gave him."

"You see," Chris continued. "Before I began to really make my money, I wasn't what you would call rich. My father was a banker and we were affluent. At that point Christian was in a physically weakened state and wasn't even speaking. While I know that I would have tried to care for him and raise him, if only for Ella's sake, I could never have done for him what you did."

He looked over at Melissa with tears in his eyes. Their love for each other is obvious in all their words and actions. They are true soul mates.

"I can finish this," she said softly. "Grace we believe that everything worked out by God's plan. He knew what was best for Christian and offered you the opportunity to give him exactly what he needed. You are Carrick were truly sent as angels of God's mercy to give him another chance in life. We will be forever grateful to you for that."

All of this talk about God has made me feel uncomfortable. We are not exactly religious people and never have been. Christian has told me on several occasions that he thought that I was an angel when he first saw me. But I don't believe that it was in the same sense as these people were talking about.

"I'm sorry," said Melissa, clearly reading my thoughts. "I don't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, but God is an important part of our lives."

I nodded, but didn't get the impression that they weren't going to avoid bringing up such things again.

"I also want you to know," said Chris. "That we are making no claims on Christian's affections. Carrick is his father and I have no desire to displace him. We are all busy trying to fill in some of the gaps in his story. I am still anxious about what happened to Ella, although that is now manifesting itself as a wish to help other young women in her position. I am also very concerned about this theoretical benefactor who was so determined to bring us together."

"You have no idea, then?" I asked.

"It couldn't have been on my behalf," he replied. "I was the one tracked down as Christian's father. As you know, I never knew of his existence before McBride approached me."

"McBride is being most uncooperative," I commented.

"He really doesn't know," said Chris. "I think that he wishes now that he had not been sucked in by this anonymous gesture. No excuse was ever given for _why _this benefactor was so determined to remain secret. The reason for seeking me out was so that Christian might get family history for health reasons."

"I hadn't considered that," I said. "As a doctor, that makes a lot of sense. We don't know anything about Elliot's parents, but we do have the relevant information about Mia. Hers was an open adoption. Is there anything that he needs to know."

"Not on my side," replied Chris. "Ella's mother died at a young age of cancer, it was colon cancer, I recently found out so he is going to need to have regular colonoscopies."

"Does he know that?" I asked wryly.

"Yes, and he was none to pleased to hear it," he said with a little smile. "As his mother, you may need to follow up."

Somehow, hearing this man refer to me so easily as his mother made me feel much better. I could see that he really meant it when he said that he had no intention of trying to displace on undermine Carrick and me. I know that Christian has been feeling very confused lately. It must be hard for these people as well.

Today, however, I received the oddest call from him.

"Hello, Grace, this is Chris Price," he greeted me. "Would you mind answering a couple of questions for me?"

"I'll do my best," I replied, wondering what in the world he could want.

"I am interesting in knowing a little about your friend Elena Lincoln," he said.

"Elena Lincoln is no longer my friend," I said tightly.

"That's what I thought," he replied carefully. "I have reason to be concerned about her and her relationship with Christian."

"In what way?" I asked tersely.

"I can tell that this is making you upset," he commented. "I will understand if you do not wish to discuss her."

I am not sure if I want to discuss her. But this man is his father. It is difficult to say that he has a right to know because he really doesn't have a right to know anything that we don't want to tell him. Besides, the tenor of this conversation is such that I suspect he is trying to confirm something that his private investigators have uncovered. I consider my words carefully.

"Mrs. Lincoln is a part of Christian's past that I prefer not to dwell on or discuss," I finally replied.

"I see," he said. "I won't bother you with this any longer."

In other words, I have answered your question without really saying anything, I think after he has hung up. I washed my hands of that woman months ago, and so did Christian finally. Right now she is off in Tahiti, no doubt baking herself brown. Maybe she'll find herself a nice island boy and move there. If I never see her again, it will be too soon.

**Price**

After my phone call to Grace Grey, I called my investigator, Clement.

"Clem, I want a full investigation of an Elena Lincoln who lives here in Seattle," I demanded. "I want as much as you can get, as quickly as you can get it. I am very suspicious of her and her relationship with my son."

"What are you looking for, Price?" he asked.

"Anything and everything that you can find," I replied. "I want to know what nursery school she went to and what brand of diapers her mother used. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," he replied.

As I hang up, I unintentionally slammed the phone down.

"What's wrong dear?" asked Melissa as she came in.

"I think that I have finally gotten a lead on the person who has been trying to actively sabotage Christian's life and, I suspect, his relationship with Grace and Carrick," I replied.

"It's not the poor girl in Connecticut?" she asked.

"I'm not sure that I would call her a poor girl, Melissa," I answered. "I think that she's crazy like a fox and she bears watching but she doesn't have the money to go to the lengths that this other woman has."

"Oh?" Melissa looks surprised.

"Clement has been instructed to dig up every bit of dirt that he can on her, and I suspect that when he is through, he is going to find a truckload."

**Elena**

In two days, I return to Seattle. The news about Christian and his father has died down. It's a pity, a victim to the twenty-four hour news cycle I guess. I will have to catch up on things once I get back. And the pot may need a little bit more stirring. I have really enjoyed my time here. I am reluctant to return to the damp Seattle winter. But things have gotten a little dull here. I am looking forward to some excitement once I return.


	10. Chapter 9

**Hell Hath No Fury**

**Chapter 9**

**Christian**

Ana cannot let go of her need to help me "build" a relationship with the Prices. Her latest trick has been to get me to meet my three "half-sisters." But this time I insisted that I meet them on my terms in my territory. Therefore, on Saturday afternoon, Chris and Melissa arrive promptly at 2 with the three girls in tow.

I really don't know what I was expecting. Since the only sister that I have known up to this point is Mia, I guess that I pictured three girls in matching frilly dresses and curls, giggling and whispering together. I also pictured them much younger than they are, kind of like triplets. Instead, they are what Melissa calls a "triple play:" a teen, a pre-teen, and a "tween," whatever that is.

They are all blonde, but that is about all they have in common. The oldest was dressed in jeans and a Justin Bieber tee shirt. She had to take the ear buds out of her iPhone when she was introduced and looked very annoyed. The other two didn't stand still long enough to be introduced.

The middle girl was wearing a kind of sparkly shirt, with a short-short skirt, and silver flats. If I ever have a daughter, she will never leave the house in anything that short. She barely acknowledged our presence as she headed for the kitchen. The youngest came running in, in San Francisco Giants sweats and made a beeline for the grand piano. Without asking permission, she immediately began to pound out chopsticks. I know that I visibly winced at the rough treatment of the Steinway. What the fuck?

Clearly embarrassed by the girls' rude behavior, Chris let out a piercing whistle from between his fingers. The result was instantaneous and all three immediately returned to the foyer. They at least had the decency to look somewhat remorseful.

"Sarah, Emily, and Katie," he says, as he patted each one on the head. "This is Christian and this is his wife Ana. As you all know, he is your half-brother. I would appreciate if you would use your company manners and greet them properly."

Each girl uncomfortably says hello and shakes our hands. It is obvious that Katie, the youngest, is the rebel, or maybe just the most honest.

"If he's, like, our brother," she says. "Don't we get to use, like, family manners?"

"Family or company manners," replies Melissa briskly. "You will behave politely. Sarah put the iPhone away, Emily stay out of the kitchen unless you are invited, and Katie do not touch the piano without permission."

"Do you play?" Ana asks Katie sweetly.

"Only "Chopsticks" and "Heart and Soul," Emily interjects quickly. "She wouldn't practice, so Mom stopped her lessons."

Katie sticks her tongue out at her sister as, Melissa says sharply, "Girls!"

But I actually kind of like the girls. They have spirit and it doesn't appear that they are spoiled brats. I also think that they may be acting out because they want to remind their parents that _they _are their kids, not me. It rather creates a dent in the perfect image of themselves that Chris and Melissa have been projecting. We go into the great room and all sit around the couch. Ana asks if they would like drinks or snacks.

"I'd like a Coke and chips, please," answers Sarah, right away.

Melissa frowns, but I have to grin. More rebellion, I like that. Ana just looks back at her serenely. I like that too. It looks like she is going to be one of those unflappable, no nonsense Moms.

"I'm sorry," she says without regret. "But we have fruit or raw vegetables for snacks and several kinds of juices, or water if you like."

The girls look at their mother suspiciously. She puts up her hands.

"I didn't say a word," she comments dismissively. "But see, our family isn't the only one that doesn't stock a complete supply of junk food."

Ana invites her to go help her fix a couple of platters and takes orders for juice. The girls are cooperative about asking nicely for what they want. But that leaves Chris and I alone with my "sisters." I really have no idea of what to say. I am annoyed because this whole thing was Ana's idea and now she's bailed on me.

"So are you a Giants fan?" I ask Katie quickly, using the clothing as a tip.

"Yes, sir," she replies. "Are you a Mariners fan?"

"Yes, I am," I answer, grateful that I have found a topic of conversation. "Do you like any other sports?"

She scrunches up her face and then says, "Basketball is okay, and soccer. But football is too boring. Nothing ever happens."

"Do you play any sports?" I ask to keep the dialogue going.

"I play tennis and volleyball," she says. "Do you play any sports?"

"When I was in college, I rowed," I reply. "I've always kick-boxed though and I like to run and work out."

"I heard that you dropped out of Harvard," tosses out Emily. She has now, for the second time, put herself out there as the "button pusher." It's kind of fun to watch Chris shift in his seat. The kid is only being marginally polite in her tone.

"Emily!" cuts in Melissa sharply, as she returns.

Emily looks at her in a puzzled, though not entirely innocent, way. I'm starting t like this kid.

"Mom," she says. "That's so cool. You know Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard. He founded Facebook. Did you found anything cool, you know, to become a billionaire."

"Not anything cool like Facebook," I tell her. "I own Grey Holding Enterprises."

"I told you, Em," says Sarah in a scornful tone. "He's a boring billionaire like Dad. I mean, even Bill Gates is cooler than them. You know he founded Microsoft. Did you know that he dropped out of Harvard too?"

"Dad," asks Katie, with what I can immediately tell, is feigned innocence. "How did you become a billionaire?"

"What?" asks Chris in astonishment, looking at me, embarrassed.

"You know, like, don't you have to drop out of Harvard to become a billionaire?" she continues. This is too clever by a half for a ten-year-old. I can see Sarah and Emily exchanging mischievous glances. It reminds me of the days when Elliot and I used to set Mia up to drop some bombshells during family parties.

But Ana, not having any clue about these kinds of sibling dynamics, chokes on her cranberry juice. I still have to wonder. Is there any thought that these kids have that doesn't come out of their mouths? Melissa looks at Chris and shakes her head. Then, she moves back to safer ground.

"Well, I overheard that you have discovered that Katie is our athlete," she says, clearly used to covering the girls' social faux pas. "Emily over here is a computer nerd of sorts."

"The sort of computer nerd that's really a gamer," throws out Sarah, obviously looking for a reaction. Emily sticks out her tongue and Katie giggles.

"Sarah likes to ride horses," Melissa continues, ignoring them. "She's quite a little equestrienne."

"We have horses on the ranch," says Emily. "Sarah rides in shows. She has lots of trophies and ribbons. Do you ride horses?"

"No," replies Ana, grimacing. When the realtor suggested using the meadow at the new house for a paddock she very quickly nixed the idea. I had no opinion on the matter. It was one of those areas where I was willing to Ana have whatever it was that she wanted.

"We actually prefer sailing and gliding," she adds.

"I saw a picture of your sailboat "The Grace" on the Internet," says Sarah. "Was she really built by your company?"

"Yes, she was," I say proudly, and then add without thinking, "When the weather is better, maybe we could go out for a sail."

"Cool," answers Sarah. " Did you know that Dad's Wikipedia page is longer than yours?"

The speed at which these girls change the subject has my head spinning. Ana is grinning because she sees that I am a little unnerved by it. Were Elliot, Mia, and I like this when we were kids? I can't remember. But I know that Ana is really smiling because I've invited them out on the boat, which means that we'll be seeing them again. That means that she's won me over to the idea of establishing a relationship with them.

But that doesn't bother me so much anymore. Until I met them, I had been viewing Chris and Melissa as these perfect people who seemed to have very thing under control. But now I can see that they're not do perfect. I sense that some of what the girls are doing is some good old-fashioned passive-aggressive anti-parental behavior.

Chris and Melissa have spent so much time up here in Seattle recently, that the girls may actually be jealous of _me. _As much as I would like to reassure them that I have no intention of "stealing" their Daddy away from them, I hold my tongue.

Suddenly, Emily becomes distracted, or probably better put bored, again.

"Do you have an XBox or something?" she asks, completely out of the blue.

"As a matter of fact," says Ana, giving me a sidelong glance. "We have one in the playroom. Would you like to see it?"

"Yes, ma'am," she nods eagerly, and then all three girls happily follow her into the television room.

I rub my forehead in relief once they're gone.

"This is what you can look forward to down the line, Christian," comments Chris.

I grimace.

"They're a good advertisement for only children," I say. "But Ana is an only child and has made it clear that we will have at least one more."

"I'm sorry that they were so . . . boisterous when they came in," apologizes Chris. "I'm afraid that most of that was aimed at me. I had been riding them about being on their best behavior."

"You got them calmed down pretty quick," I reply.

"Years of practice," he answers modestly. "The important thing to know about adolescents is that they push boundaries because they want boundaries. When they're little it's easy, they pretty much do what you tell them. They start testing you when they get older because they are trying to figure things out for themselves."

"And they are still trying to figure you out," adds Melissa. "Their feelings about you are, to put it mildly, ambivalent."

"Oh?"

"They are not impressed with your wealth, obviously," she continues. "They've always wanted a brother, but you are not exactly what they had in mind. They got a lot of attention from all of their friends when the story first broke. Now they just want us to come back home and for things to get back to normal."

"The girls all have very distinct personalities," comments Ana, as she returns.

I am glad that she is changing the subject.

"Yes, they do," agrees Melissa. "And strong personalities. It's been a careful balance, not allowing them to get spoiled. With all of our financial assets, it would be real easy to spoil them. They each have their own horse, but they are responsible for their care. Chris has insisted that they even muck out their stalls when they are home on school breaks and have time. And they have to keep their own rooms clean."

"Do you have domestic help?" asks Ana curiously.

"Oh, yes," she replies. "But I think it's still important to give the girls chores and responsibilities. Neither Chris nor I grew up with housekeepers and such waiting on us."

"Are you taking notes?" I ask, playfully.

"Of course," says Ana. "I would say that between Melissa and Grace, I am going to have lots of great advice to follow."

"What about your own mother?" asks Chris.

"Well," Ana hedges. "She's all the way down in Georgia."

Reading the discomfort in her face, Melissa jumps in, "So, tell me about the new house. It must almost be done."

Ana beams because she's been given a topic that is one of her favorites. Chris and Melissa listen avidly as she describes the latest progress that Elliot has made on the refurbishment. That's one thing that I like about Melissa. She is very sensitive to other people's feelings.

And so far, I can tell that she has done a very good job of balancing her desire to get to know Ana better, with Mom's need to be the grandmother in the mix. However, Melissa looks much to young to be a grandmother anyway. She almost seems like more of an older sister to Ana.

Since I'm really not engaged by the conversation, I walk over to the television room to see what the girls are up to. Emily and Katie are happily playing some game on the XBox. Sarah is curled up on the couch tapping away on her iPhone, no doubt texting her friends like all kids that age do.

It is odd to see children hanging out in here. Especially since they all look so at home. I've never thought of Escala as a family home before, but I realize that someday our own kids may be doing pretty much the same thing when we're here in the city. Then I feel a tap on the shoulder. It's Chris.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" he asks congenially.

"What wasn't so bad?" I reply.

"Meeting the girls," he says, smiling. "I know that you were reluctant, but despite that fact that they are your sisters, I'm not sure that you'll get the full bratty little sister treatment times three."

"Yeah," I admit. "That may have been an issue. My little sister Mia can be pretty annoying and interfering sometimes. I heard that you met her at Mom's house."

"Hmm, yes," he says. "She was not very impressed with us. I'm afraid that she is having a little trouble accepting us. She seems very possessive. Grace was a little embarrassed by her comments."

"She can be possessive, I know," I admit. "I'm hoping that when she starts university in January that she'll start to develop more productive, shall we say, interests. I'm afraid that she is pretty spoiled, not just by my parents, but by all of us."

"Well, hopefully, she'll come around," he says. "Listen, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure, do you want to come into my study?" I ask.

After I close the door, he begins to look concerned.

"Any luck with your people finding out about this mystery benefactor or the press leak?" he asks.

"Still no leads," I answer with a sigh. "I've started to get mighty pissed at Welch. He hasn't had this much trouble tracking someone down since Leila was stalking us last spring."

"Well," he says. "My people have turned up a lead on someone who used to be very close to your family, Elena Lincoln."

"Elena?" I scoff. "What are you talking about? She has better things to do than look for my biological father, and better ways to spend her money."

"Christian," he answers carefully. "I know that I am going to make you very angry by saying this, but I know why she and your mother are no longer on speaking terms."

"Well, there were a number of people present at the house the night it all came out," I reply. "I wouldn't be surprised if there were whispers. You know, I was young and stupid. I was also pretty fucked up by my early beginnings."

Now he looks at me intently, ignoring my allusion to a beginning that was partially his fault. I figure that the guilt card might be a useful diversionary tactic, but I'm wrong.

"I know it _all_, Christian," he says seriously. "I know all about that woman and her sadistic predilections. I know that she must be the one who got you caught up in that self-destructive lifestyle. She is a very dangerous predator and don't think that she will ever change. I know that you have severed all business ties with her, but she is still bad news and a potential threat."

"I have no intention of going anywhere near Elena again," I reply defensively. "And she has not come anywhere near me."

"Do you have anyone watching her?" he asks.

"Why would I need to do that?" I ask back.

"She is a sick and twisted woman," he replies. "It was thanks to your past relationship with her that her husband posted bail for that lunatic who nearly killed your wife and child, among other things. Now I know that you have ruined him financially, but that still makes him dangerous to you, as well."

"Well, Elena has been in Tahiti for the past couple of weeks," I reply. "So I am not completely unaware of her. Taylor doesn't trust her either."

"Taylor is a good man, you should listen to him."

Fortunately, Ana knocks on the door and peeks her head around. Much as I am starting to like Chris, he had better back off on Elena. And he better not say anything to Ana. I don't need her all cranked up about that again.

"Dinner in ten," she says cheerfully. "You two look like you're having an intense discussion."

"Nothing for you to worry about, baby," I say.

She looks at me sharply.

"Every time you say that," she says. "It usually means that I do have something to worry about."

I shrug. So what else is new? At least we can put an end to this unpleasant conversation. It's none of his fucking business what my relationship was or is with Elena. It's rather disturbing that he has figured out that it was she who led me into the BDSM lifestyle. If he could find out, then who else might be able to?

As soon as Ana is gone, Chris looks at me seriously.

"I won't say anything about this again."

Good, I think, because I am fucking tired of the subject.

**Price**

"Mr. Grey has always had a blind spot where Mrs. Lincoln is concerned, Mr. Price," replies Taylor, in answer to my question. "It is not my place to tell him how he should or should not behave with her or whether or not he should trust her."

I am not pleased with his response, which just confirmed my fears about my son. I have called up Taylor to see if I can get any insight from him about Elena Lincoln. It's difficult; because he takes his NDA that he signed very seriously. However, I have passed along the intelligence that I have discovered about her.

"You have not uncovered anything that I didn't know already," he says impassively, after he looks through it. "Your people are very good. No one has ever turned this up before."

"Perhaps that's because no one has ever gone looking for it before," I say. "Can you think of a reason why anyone would?"

"No," he admits. "But what made you suspicious of her?"

"One of my men, Clement," I answer. "Was talking to Ana's friend Kate, who is also to be Christian's sister-in-law. She was fairly circumspect when answering his questions, but did make an allusion to Mrs. Lincoln."

"Really?"

"Apparently, Elliot had said something about her getting kicked out of the house after some kind of quarrel with Mrs. Gray at Christian's birthday party," I reply. "Out of nowhere, she dropped the name Mrs. Robinson with regards to her. Clement had already discovered that Christian was her former silent partner in her salon business and that he had generously gifted them to her shortly after the incident."

Taylor stares at me, refusing to reveal anything. I am now more convinced than ever that I am on the right track.

"Kate is very protective of Ana, I know," I continue. "She was throwing off some very negative vibes about Mrs. Lincoln aka Mrs. Robinson. Clement did a full work up on her. I know what her predilections are. I am also aware of my son's preferences. Or at least what they formerly were."

Taylor stares at me as if he would bore a hole in my head if I could. I decide to change my tack.

"Arithmetic was always my favorite subject in school," I comment. "What about you Taylor?"

"I was always very good at math also."

"Hmm. Would you say that the sum of two and two is always four?" I ask casually.

"In my experience," he says noncommittally. "That is the proper sum."

"Thank you, Taylor," I reply. "I will not take up anymore of your time."

"My pleasure, sir," he says blandly.

As I leave his office in Grey House, I consider my next step.

"Please take me to Carrick Grey's law offices," I tell my driver as I buckle my seatbelt.

It is only a short drive over. On the way, I call his administrative assistant to make sure that he is not in court. She is very surprised when I demand that she slot me in as his next appointment. As usual, my name opens doors. I am not too concerned that Carrick will send me away. He has made his feeling about me perfectly plain, and he knows that if I am insisting on seeing him directly then it must be something very important.

His greeting is cool, which I expected. He is very formally polite. As a lawyer, he is very good at concealing his feelings.

"Carrick, Mr. Grey," I begin. "I would not be bothering you with my presence, except that I wish to discuss a matter of great importance with you regarding Christian."

"You can always speak to my wife," he says politely. "There is nothing that I know that she doesn't."

"Sir," I reply respectfully. "I understand your reluctance to have any unnecessary contact with me. However, this is an issue that, when I enlighten you, I assure that you will agree that you don't wish Grace to find out about."

"About Christian?" he asks, taking in a deep breath.

"Yes," I answer. "And his regrettable relationship with Elena Lincoln."

"What the fuck has Elena done now?" he growls.

"It is not what she is doing," I say quietly. "It is what she has done."

He relaxes.

"We know all about that, thank you very much," he replies, almost in relief.

"No you don't."

He tenses again. I hate doing this to him, but I feel that he needs to know. Christian is refusing to take Elena's threat seriously. I know that Taylor does, but he is hamstrung by what Christian will allow him to do.

Christian has finally begun to come to grips with my existence. We had a delightful afternoon yesterday with he and Ana and the girls at Escala. I know that if we continue to move forward patiently and carefully, chances are good that a family friendship will evolve. I am risking that by tell Carrick what I know, however, my son has never forced me to sign a non-disclosure agreement, nor did he specifically ask that I not tell anyone what I knew.

"Carrick, I am aware that you know that Christian had an affair with Elena Lincoln and that it began when he was an under-aged minor," I state. "But I am pretty sure that you do not know that complete nature of the affair. Stop me, if you don't want to hear this."

"Go on," he says tightly.

"My man has uncovered that Elena has been into the BDSM scene for many years now," I continue. "This was the kind of relationship that she introduced him to. He was her submissive for six years."

"BDSM?" he asks with trepidation.

"Bondage-Discipline-Dominant-Submissive-Sadistic-M asochistic," I explain. "To cut to the chase, he allowed her to physically abuse him in all kinds of perverted forms in exchange for all kinds of perverted sex."

Carrick Grey looks shocked to his core. I am sure that he understands now why I could not bring this to Grace.

"It ended when her husband found out," I finish. "Which I believe you already know. But she led him down a dark path. That was why he was such a loner for all these years. It was Ana who finally freed him."

I am not so heartless as to let him find out that Christian continued on this path as a Dominant, contracting young women as submissives to service his needs. I am hopeful that he will never need to learn this. It is better to let him thank that Elena just turned him into a social misfit.

"I always knew that Ana was the best thing that ever happened to him," he says. "But why are we talking about Elena now? He threw her out of his life months ago."

"Yes, but I don't think that she has given up on him," I reply. "She has covered her tracks very well, but I believe that it was she who hired McBride. And I believe that she leaked our initial meeting to the press. I have no proof, only a gut instinct. I suspect that she was trying to disrupt your relationship with Christian. It might have worked, if Melissa and I had been different people."

He looks at me blinking. I know that he doesn't believe me.

"She is in Tahiti, but due back tonight," I say. "When she returns and discovers that her plans didn't work, I am afraid that she will be up to more mischief. I feel that we need to protect both of our families from her manipulations before someone really gets hurt."

Carrick looks thoughtful now.

"Have you uncovered anything that she had done that is illegal?" he asks. "Other than sexually abusing my son, that is?"

"No," I say, shaking my head regretfully. "I think that at this point, all we can do is keep a close eye on her and wait for her next move. But this time, we will be ready for her."

Carrick looks me directly in the eye.

"Yes, we will."


	11. Chapter 10

**Hell Hath No Fury**

**Chapter 10**

**Grace**

Carrick comes home from work on Monday evening in a bad mood. I sigh. As usual, I can get nothing out of him. Unusually, he goes over to the bar and pours himself a tumbler of Black Label neat. He never drinks during the week unless we are going out to some kind of social affair. And even then, he sticks to wine, no hard liquor. Now he is just sitting and looking broodingly into the fireplace. I can't fathom what is going through his mind.

The last couple of weeks have been difficult for him. I know that he is afraid that he is losing his son, Christian. No matter how much Chris and Christian both reassure him that that will not happen, he is still fearful. I suppose that it's because he and Christian have had more than their share of disagreements over the years. But they were nothing out of the ordinary for fathers and sons.

Of course, he is always comparing his relationship with Christian to his relationship with Elliot. He and Elliot have always gotten along very well. But I have always felt that that is more a matter of personality, than chemistry. Elliot has always been good-natured and easy going.

After we adopted him, he fit right into the household right away. It was rather surprising, since he had been through a number of foster care homes since he was abandoned at age three. I was always surprised that no one had adopted him earlier, but then most people want babies.

Elliot was a little resentful of Christian in the beginning. After all, he really liked being the center of attention. However, he very quickly figured out that Christian was no threat to him in that department. In fact, after a while, he began to try to find ways of helping Christian to come out of his shell. Again, that's just his personality, kind and giving. In the beginning, Christian was not at all interested in playing with him, so Elliot would encourage him to sit with him.

"Come over here, Christian, and sit next by me," he would say.

Christian would walk over with his blanket tucked under his arm and sit about two feet away. Ignoring the distance, Elliot would start to build something with his blocks or Legos and explain everything as Christian watched.

"See, Christian," he might say. "I put the bigger blocks on the bottom and they hold the foundation in place."

Christian would follow every movement with wide eyes. Elliot would always build carefully and slowly. One time he built something too high and it fell with a loud crash. Elliot looked mad. Christian was so scared that he ran away and I found him in his bedroom hiding under the bed. When he refused to come out, Elliot took charge.

"It's okay, Christian," he said as he lay on the floor and pulled up the edge of the bedspread so that he could see him. All we could see were his legs. "I messed up. I built it wrong. Please come out. I promise that I'll build it better next time."

When he finally coaxed him out, they sat down again and Elliot began to carefully build explaining the mistake he made and how he was correcting it. Christian stared at him with solemn eyes and clutched his blanket. They were such a study in contrasts, laughing, good-natured Elliot and solemn, moody Christian. There was Elliot who would greet Carrick by leaping into his arms every night, until he became too big, while Christian always stood back, aloof.

I have no idea of what Carrick is thinking of as he is staring into the fire, but finally, he speaks.

"Price thinks that Elena Lincoln is the anonymous benefactor and the leak to the press," he states without preamble. "He thinks that it was some kind of revenge against you and me on her part."

"What was she thinking?" I gasp. "Is she crazy?"

"I don't know what she was thinking other than to cause trouble," he says, as he takes a sip of his scotch. "She comes back from vacation tonight and he is afraid that she will think of more mischief when she discovers that her plot was not successful."

"Not successful?" I ask. "How could she possibly think that?"

Last night we had what should have been a lovely Sunday night dinner with the family. Christian, Ana, Elliot, Kate, Mia, and Ethan were all there. We've had many of these pleasant evenings in the past few weeks, but this one turned sour. Christian made the mistake of casually mentioning that the Prices had been over for dinner at Escala the night before.

Ana had put a hand on his arm and tried to change the subject.

She said, "Yes, it was very interesting. And I really am glad that we decided to keep the meadow as it is rather than turning it into a paddock."

"Don't like horses, sis?" teased Elliot, always ready to tease.

"Ana got thrown one time we went riding," commented Kate. "We haven't been able to get her up on horse since."

"Chris's oldest girl is a very talented rider," commented Christian, not to be deterred from his strain of thought. "She has placed in a number of shows. It was interesting having them there. We could barely get the other two off the XBox for dinner."

"Did you try and play with them?" asked Elliot mischievously.

"I'm afraid that that is a sore point, Elliot," said Ana, trying to suppress a smile. "I believe that little Emily kicked his butt."

"I've always told you that I was crap on it," Christian grumbled. "She told me to get a Wii because I might be better at that."

"But Katie blew open that suggestion when she said that Emily prefers Wii to XBox," Ana laughed. "I must say that all three of them are pretty smooth operators."

"So what are _your_ three little sisters like?" asked Mia with a jealous edge to her voice. "Are they as spoiled as I am?"

That was a mistake on her part, as Elliot couldn't resist commenting, "Nobody is as spoiled as you are, baby sister."

Ana looked over towards me, when she heard Mia's tone. She and Christian knew about Mia's rude behavior towards the Prices when they came to visit. It's a shame that the topic of the three girls had even come up, because it then threw her into a bad mood. Christian, however, was not aware of this. It's amazing how dense he can be about these things sometimes.

"They're okay," he replied. "Typical of kids their age from what I hear. They're not too impressed by me though. The oldest one got a kick out of comparing me to the other two famous Harvard dropouts, Gates and Zuckerberg. However, Emily referred to Chris and I as boring billionaires."

"Because you didn't make your money on cool stuff like Facebook or Microsoft?" asked Elliot, grinning.

"Something like that," answered Christian with a grimace. "They really seemed to be trying to yank their father's chain though. He took it well enough. He said that that's what happens when you live in a house with four women. He told me that I was lucky that this was a son.

With that, he reached over and spread his hand over Ana's abdomen, his thoughts moving in another direction. It was obvious however, that he actually liked meeting the girls. Before anyone else could say anything, Mia flounced out, clearly bothered by this.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Elliot, looking around and clueless as ever.

I could see Kate and Ana exchanging glances. Ethan and Christian looked just as confused as Elliot. Carrick's expression was impassive. Finally, Kate spoke up.

"I think that Mia is having trouble adjusting to the fact that she is no longer Christian's only baby sister," she said.

Christian frowned.

"I don't really think of the girls as sisters," he said. "They're more like, I don't know, nieces or something. I mean they're all so much younger than me. They're just kids."

I went up to try and calm Mia down and get her to return to the table, but she insisted on sulking. Finally, Ethan went up and managed to get her to come down before the others left. Ever since the kidnapping, he has slowly become more interested in her, and a little protective.

Remembering that, I could only think that Elena had done a very good job of stirring things up in the family. However, since there haven't been any public indications of that, Elena may not be satisfied. I frown at the thought. The last thing that we need is more uninvited interference. Then, I hear a voice from behind me.

"Do you mean that bitch Elena Lincoln is responsible for all of this crap?" Mia hisses.

"There is no absolute proof," sighs Carrick. "But that is what Price thinks."

"I suppose that he's grateful to her or something," says Mia sarcastically.

"Hardly," snorts Carrick. "He sees her for the manipulative whore that she is. He's afraid that she's going to start more trouble when she returns tonight."

"She's coming back?" asks Mia. "I thought that she was baking her skanky body brown in Tahiti."

"Yes," says Carrick absent-mindedly. "Price wants to keep a close eye to make sure that she stays out of trouble, or causes any for that matter."

I look from my pensive husband to my petulant daughter and think that dinner is going to be very unpleasant tonight.

"I'm going to make a phone call," says Mia and stomps out of the room.

I idly wonder who she is going to call. It will probably be either Ethan or Elliot, so that she can let off some steam. She hasn't had much to say to Christian lately, or Ana for that matter. She knows that Ana has become very friendly with the Prices and sees it as some kind of treasonous behavior.

Ana and I discussed it earlier today and she feels that Chris can help lay some of Christian's demons to rest. Since she has spent most of their relationship trying to help him come to terms with his past she, and apparently Flynn as well, only sees the benefits of the situation. But she doesn't have to live with Mia and Carrick.

"He was always convinced that his father was some kind of a pimp or pusher or drug addict," she explained. "It was part of his negative self-image to believe that his parents were as 'fucked up' as he was. It's been a revelation that his parents were normal high school kids who messed up. He's still coming to grips with this shift in the axis of his world. In the long run, this is going to be very good for him."

"Do you think that he is starting to view Chris as a father?" I asked nervously.

"No," she said thoughtfully. "I think that he sees him as more of a friend, despite the biological connection. And Chris always seems to be walking on eggs. They do have a lot in common you know, mostly due to the fact that they are both billionaire tycoons, I think.

"There are a lot of times when they will slip into business discussions, but they are engaged by topics, not each other. I would hardly say that their relationship qualifies as warm and fuzzy. And Christian is full grown man. He even behaves that way sometimes. But he has no history of being 'fathered' by Chris. That is what will make the difference in the long run."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well," she explained. "It's kind of like the difference in how I feel about my two step-fathers. Christian and I have talked this through. I guess that technically Ray is now my ex-step-father, but he's been my Dad for as long as I can remember. You know, he gave me his name. He was the one who was there when my Mom . . . couldn't take care of me when I was a teenager.

"_He's my Dad. _Bob is a nice guy who is married to my Mom, but he's never going to take Ray's place in my heart, even if technically speaking, now he is my step-father. It's about the person who raised you, not any legal or technical relationship. Carrick will always be Dad to Christian."

I looked at her intently.

"At least that's what I think," she said. "And to be honest, the girls didn't really view Christian as any kind of a brother. They were acting out, according to Melissa, because they want all of _their Dad's _attention. Christian and I were more like their parents' friends or something. You know what I mean, close family friends, but not family. Christian did get a kick out of them though. He said that it was nice to see the television room being used by them. He even imagined our kids in there someday. He said that it made the room feel normal."

"Normal?"

"You know Christian," she replied. "He has a hard time viewing himself, or anything in his life, as normal."

"Maybe you could talk to Carrick sometime about how you feel about Ray and Bob," I commented. "It might make him feel better to know that Christian isn't going to dump him in favor of his 'real' Dad."

"I would be happy to," she smiled.

That's one of the many things that I love about Ana. She always wants to make everyone happy. But now I decide to leave Carrick to his brooding. I will suggest later that he might have lunch with Ana as soon as possible. I go up and so that I can try to make Mia feel better.

As I approach her room, I hear her loudly complaining on the phone to someone. I am shocked to hear her language. She sounds like one of the boys.

"So, Elliot, the fucking bitch troll was out to screw up our family," she yells.

Bitch troll?

"Price thinks that she's behind the whole thing and all because she wants to get back at Mom and Dad because they are mad about her and Christian. . . Yeah, I know that we're not supposed to know about that, but if Kate and Ethan knew than I don't see why we were entitled to know. . . Yeah, I know that Kate is Ana's best friend. . . Elliot, we've got to do something before anything else happens!"

There are finally a few moments of silence.

"God damn it, Elliot!" she hollers. "You don't have to mind your own fucking business! You're his big brother! You have to take care of him!"

I can't stand listening to her rant anymore and peek my head around the door so that she can see me.

"Shit, it's Mom," she says anxiously. "Laters!"

I look at her quietly and allow her to catch her breath. Her make up is smudged because she has been crying and there is evidence that she's been throwing things around her room. I don't know whether I should be angry or worried. She is behaving like a girl half her age. With a huff, she flops onto her bed and stares at the ceiling. Now I have two brooders on my hands.

"Are you ready talk with me calmly now," I say softly. "Preferably without any more invective?"

"Yes, ma'am," she replies, duly chastened.

"Mia," I ask. "Has Christian given you any indication that you are no longer his beloved baby sister?"

"No," she says sullenly, crossing her arms across her chest. "But you can't possibly understand. It's different for you, Mom. It's not like it is for Dad and me."

"What do you mean?"

"Christian's birth mother is dead. Okay, maybe she wasn't the crack whore that he thought that she was, but she's still dead," she responds. "Elliot doesn't have to worry because he doesn't have any new brothers to deal with, but now Christian has a new father and three new little sisters."

I sigh.

"From what I have been able to tell," I answer. "Christian is not exactly accepting Chris as father with open arms. And as for the little girls, I doubt that he feels the same way about them as he does about you."

"Yeah, but it sounded like he thought that they were cool or something," she whines.

"Well, maybe he does," I say honestly. "But the fact that he is going to be a father in less than six months is changing his perspective on some things, including children in general. Ana told me that he liked seeing the girls playing in the television room because he was imagining their children playing in there someday. That's a very normal reaction for a future father to have. The fact that the girls just happen to be the daughters of his biological father in no way colored that perception."

"Oh, so then do you think that I'm acting jealous for no reason?" she asks.

"Yes," I reply bluntly.

"That's what Ethan said," she admits. "I thought that it was just some of his psychology sh-, er, stuff."

"Mia," I say. "It's time for you to do a little growing up. You are not the center of everyone's universe. When Ana has the baby, she and Christian will be completely focused on him. And then after they're married, Elliot and Kate will begin to have kids. That's how it works. We have always treated you as a kind of little princess. And, I am afraid that we have allowed you too much freedom to do whatever you wanted without actually guiding you towards any career plans."

She swallows hard.

"That's what Ethan told me," she admits. "He says that I'm a real sweet kid and he likes me a lot. But he wants to see me grow up before we have a real, close relationship. He said that he wants to date a woman, not a girl."

"Is he willing to wait?" I ask gently.

"He's says that he'll help," she replies shyly. "But he wants to know that I'm not the baby of the family anymore. And he says that I'm spoiled. He wants me to act my age."

"How did you feel about that?" I ask carefully.

"At first, I was mad," she says. "Now I realize that he's probably right. You know, he's a really nice guy. I kind of don't want to lose him."

"Well, there's no reason that you should," I say firmly.

"Yeah, I guess not," she finally smiles.

"Bitch troll?" I ask curiously.

"That's what Ana calls her," Mia replies. "She told Kate and Kate told Ethan and Elliot. She hates her too. I think that everybody hates her."

"I would say that that is probably a fairly accurate assessment," I agree. "But I must admit that I've never heard of a 'bitch troll' before."

"Me neither," giggles Mia.

**Christian**

It has been a long day and I am tired. I can't wait to knock off working and get in bed with Ana, although I know that she is probably asleep by now. Taylor has the night off, but Sawyer is in his office keeping an eye on things. The apartment is quiet. Suddenly, I hear a noise from the bedroom.

"Christian!" Ana cries out loudly. "Christian, where are you?"

I go running in followed closely by Sawyer.

"What's wrong, baby?" I say as I turn on the light and sit on the bed. Sawyer stays back at the door.

She is crying, weeping inconsolably.

"Is it a nightmare?" I ask, as I hold her in my arms and stroke her hair.

She nods, so I turn to Sawyer and give him the okay signal. With a sigh of relief, he leaves us alone.

"Shh!" I whisper softly. "It's only a bad dream. I'm here now and nothing is going to hurt you."

Slowly, she regains her composure, allowing me to cradle her in my arms. She rests her head on my chest. I breathe my own sigh of relief and rock her gently. I think back to dinner and realize that we had pasta with pesto, which had a bit of garlic seasoning. Lately, Ana has started to experience some heartburn from even mildly spicy food.

If it is from the evening meal, it can cause nightmares. I will need to inform Gail in the morning. I know that it will upset her to learn that one of her meals upset Ana, but she had to know so that she can plan the menus accordingly. Now maybe she won't roll her eyes whenever I make a suggestion from the pregnancy books.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask softly.

"Will you come to bed now?" she asks in return, looking up at me with her big blue eyes.

"Sure, baby," I reply immediately.

Fuck the work. I can get up early tomorrow morning and do it. I know how I feel when I have a nightmare, and I still have them. The only thing that is really comforting, is when I curl up with Ana in my arms. I quickly undress and jump in bed. Immediately, Ana nestles herself against my chest so that we are spooning. Her breathing has slowed to a steady, even pattern.

"Is this good?" I whisper against her hair.

"Yes," she yawns and cuddles closer.

Oh, my poor baby. I suspect what the nightmare was about, but I decide to give her a chance to tell me.

"What was it about?" I ask gently. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"It was like the nightmare where we are in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles," she says sleepily. "You know, the one where you are walking away from me? But in this nightmare, I'm standing there with the baby. But you're not walking away."

She stops and gulps. I give her a little squeeze.

"What was I doing?"

"They were dragging you away from me," she says, as she shudders. "I could see that you were trying to call out to me, but you couldn't make a sound."

"Who was dragging?"

"Big men," she says. "With guns."

Now it's my turn to shudder. It sounds as if her nightmare has some elements of mine. We are definitely going to have to discuss this with Flynn tomorrow. This is exactly why I didn't want all of my shit in her head. And now, Price showing up is disturbing her even more.

I have read in the pregnancy books that around this time, carrying the baby starts to disrupt sleep. I will have to double check, but I believe that nightmares can be part of the disruption. But I know better than to tell her that. In her present state, rather than laughing at me, she might start to cry again. Hormonal menstrual women have got nothing on hormonal pregnant women.

"Well, don't worry," I sooth her. "That's not going to happen. I will always be here for you and the baby. Just relax and go back to sleep."

I start to kiss her hair and softly stroke it. Before I know it, she's sound asleep in my arms again. Once she's settled, I can feel myself drifting off. I'm tired and I really don't mind going to bed a little early.

**Elena **

It's been a lovely limo ride home from Sea-Tac. I have very much enjoyed my vacation, but I am looking forward to going back to the salon in the morning. Of course, I have had daily updates from all of my managers and everything has been going splendidly. It's good to know that I can go away and trust that they will run everything smoothly.

I call Isaac and tell him to meet me tomorrow night for a session. During my stay in the South Pacific, I have devised some new scenes that I am looking forward to acting out with him. He sounds glad that I am back. I know that he misses me if we are apart for too long. I had gotten a little bored with him before I left, but maybe some distance will be beneficial. Or it may be time to get a new sub.

When we reach the house, it is dark, except for the lights in various rooms on their timers. The limo driver carries my luggage into the foyer and touches his cap as he leaves me. I gave him a large tip, so he is quite pleased. On the table in the hall is the mail that my housekeeper has picked up from the post office. She came in today to do some cleaning and restocked the refrigerator and pantry for me. Everything is in order, just the way that I like it and I make my way back to my bedroom.

As I flip the light on, I see a figure waiting for me with a gun. Too late, I see the barrel of the gun.

"I've been waiting for you to return."

I hear a loud bang.

Everything goes black.


	12. Epilogue

**Hell Hath No Fury **

**Epilogue**

**Price**

Well, I can't avoid it any longer. I need to get back home to take care of business. Besides, the holiday season is almost upon us and the girls were complaining that they wanted me home. Melissa returned with them on Sunday night, and now the jet has returned to pick me up.

It is difficult to leave because I still feel that I have so much unfinished business in Seattle, however Melissa pointed out to me that I have said everything that I could for the time being. I feel like I have so many things left to say to Christian. There are just so many things that he needs to know about his mother. I know that he has complied a complete dossier on me. Needless to say it is very thick. There was almost nothing to find about Ella.

I am fortunate because Ana is only side, but I also know that she is feeling the effects of the stress on her pregnancy. Melissa discovered that she worked from home all last week. She feels that since the holidays tend to be a worrisome time of the year to begin with, Ana needs some space from us also. She has been playing a very careful game, trying to balance everyone's needs, Christian's, the Grey's, and ours. If we leave then she will have less to deal with.

It also appears that Ana has spent a lot of her life since her mother divorced her second husband, trying to balance her mother's need for a husband to take care of her, with her own desire for stability. She had already found a stable mother figure in Grace when we came into her life. She has naturally bonded to Melissa in a similar way. She just seems hungry for that kind of maternal attention, but just as I am treading carefully with Carrick, Melissa needs to do the same with Grace.

I have accepted that my son will probably never view me as a father. It is difficult for me to not see him as a son. I see such a resemblance to Ella that just looking at him stirs my emotions and regrets. I deeply regret that although he has begun to view her more sympathetically, he still bears great animosity. I can make no excuses for her. She was not only neglectful. She was selfish. She was incapable of caring for him properly, but did nothing about it.

It wasn't just that she was under the control of her pimp. She never tried to get out from under that control. She never tried to get away. And she also did a very good job of concealing Christian from the authorities or any social services that might have intervened. She never attempted to get him any help. No matter how stoned she was on the crack, she never once let go.

I blame myself for that. She was holding onto the child because he was all she had left of me. If only she hadn't been so quick to believe Mandy's lies. If only she had tried to get in touch with me later, when she ran out of money. If only she hadn't let herself get tricked by that pimp into a life of prostitution and addiction. There are a thousand "if onlys."

And so, I watch the Seattle skyline disappear as I gaze out the window. I am trying not to be selfish. I am trying not to cling to my son because he is all that I have left of Ella. It is hard to let go. I have done all that I can to make his life a little better. I hope that Ana is right when she says that just knowing who I am and who Ella really was has already helped him move forward with his life. He needs to move forward, no matter what the personal cost to me.

**Grace**

I was not sorry to hear from Ana that the Prices have returned home for the holidays. Apparently, their daughters have had enough of their absence. In addition, they have many social engagements related to business and their philanthropy that they cannot avoid. As Christian has many also, there would not have been much time for them to spend together anyway.

Dinner was a rather sullen affair last night. Although Mia came down in better spirits, but they quickly dissipated once Carrick joined us. She picked up on his grumpy mood. Much as I tried to make pleasant conversation, they thwarted me at every turn. Hopefully, now that Chris Price has returned to California, everyone's mood will improve tonight.

After dinner, Mia returned to her bedroom and locked the door. I could hear her very loudly complaining to Ethan about how unfair life is. Carrick was too restless to stay at home, so he went back to the office to finish some work he needed to do in preparation for tomorrow. He had had some kind of interruption today that had broken into his concentration.

I didn't think that his concentration would be any better tonight, but he insisted that being alone in the building would help him to focus. With time on my hands, I decided to finish up my Christmas shopping. I hate the stores at this time of year, so I do all my buying online.

I have no idea of when Carrick returned last night, but he is in a better mood this morning. After breakfast, he kisses me goodbye and tells me that he might be home late. As soon as he was out the door, the phone rings. It is Christian.

"Mother," he says. "I am worried about Ana. Last night she didn't sleep well. She woke up with nightmares a couple of times. She has never really been a morning person, but this morning she just didn't want to get out of bed."

"Does she have any pain or bleeding?" I ask anxiously.

"No, nothing like that," he replies. "She's just completely exhausted. I have been able to find anything in the pregnancy books that covers this."

"Christian, will you please stop reading those damn pregnancy books?" I scold. "You're going to turn yourself into a nervous wreck. The next thing that you'll be doing is checking out websites."

There is silence on the other end of the line.

"Um, I already have," he says.

"Well, it doesn't sound like anything other than all of the excitement of the last couple of weeks taking its toll, but if you are that concerned, then why don't you call Dr. Greene?" I reply in frustration.

"Do you think that I need to?" He asks.

"I don't think that you need to for Ana's sake," I answer. "But I think that you need to for your own peace of mind, and probably that of everyone around you."

"Okay," he says quietly. "I'll call."

After he hangs up, I shake my head. So much for peace of mind. Poor Ana, now that Christian is no longer distracted by the situation with his biological father, no doubt he will be hovering over her. But Greene has his measure. She is not one to suffer fools gladly and if she thinks that he is creating difficulties for her patient, she will not hesitate to tell him.

There's never a dull moment with the Grey family.

**Christian**

As soon as I get off the phone with Mother, I call Dr. Greene. When she hears my voice, she lets out a sigh of exasperation.

"What is it now, Mr. Grey?"

If she thinks that she is going to intimidate me with her tone, she is mistaken. I am still pissed at her because she refused my offer to drop all of her other patients and become Ana's private physician 24/7 until the baby is born. She told me that I was being too controlling, and stressing out Ana.

"Ana had a couple of very bad nightmares last night," I retort. "And she woke up exhausted this morning. She won't get out of bed."

"Is she experiencing any pain or bleeding?" she asks.

"No," I reply. "But it's already 9 am and she is normally up and around by now."

"No offense, Mr. Grey," she answers. "But normal doesn't apply anymore. If she had trouble sleeping then it is only logical that she would be extra tired in the morning."

It annoys me that she is being so calm out it. But I don't date mention that I have tried researching the symptoms and have come up empty. The last time that I told her about my reading, she rolled her eyes and told me that I was being controlling. Of course I was being controlling! That's what I fucking do! Especially when it comes to my wife and child.

"Don't you have any concerns about the nightmares?" I ask.

"Mr. Grey," she says patiently. "Ana has been under a lot of stress recently. This is just an outside observation, but you are probably adding to it now. Your housekeeper, Mrs. Jones, is more than capable of seeing to Ana's needs. Why don't you go to work and give Ana a break?"

"Go to work?" I sputter.

"Did Ana say that she wants you to stay home with her?" she asks in a challenging tone.

I am silent. Right before I called Mother, Ana had told me to go to work and let her sleep in peace.

"Just as I thought," declares Greene triumphantly. "Go to work and stop obsessing over your wife."

Thanks for nothing, I think as I hang up the phone. If she weren't the best damn ob-gyn in Seattle, I would have fired her ass weeks ago. Beside, Ana really likes her. I go into the kitchen to talk to Gail.

"Gail," I say. "I want you to know that I am going to work. I am leaving Ana in your care."

"Very good, sir," replies Gail with her usual efficiency. "I will make sure that Mrs. Grey has everything that she needs."

"And I want hourly reports," I add. "Even if its just to say that she is still sleeping."

"Yes, sir," she replies seriously, although I think that she is trying to hide a smile.

"Taylor!" I call. "We're going to work."

Taylor comes out and nods without saying a word. Then I see that he exchanges a look with Gail. They are not entirely successful at concealing their amusement.

**Elena**

Everything feels fuzzy and I can feel a sharp pain in my stomach.

"Not bad," says a voice. "This will take a while to bleed out. You'll have a little time to think out your life before you meet your Maker."

My brain is so clouded with weakness and pain that I am having trouble completely processing the words. But I hear a chuckle.

"You have caused pain to a great many people on this earth, now it's your turn," the voice continues.

I feel myself slipping into unconsciousness again.

"All kinds of pain," the voice repeats. "Goodbye, Elena Lincoln."

That is all. I fall asleep, but I know that I'll never wake up.

**The End**

**Sorry to those of you who were hoping for a resolution. You will have to wait for my next story, "Who Shot the Bitch Troll?" **

**Feedback, please. Who do **_**you **_**think did her in?**


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